(In case this is your first time reading The Dollar Diet blog, my family and I are on a quest to go the entire month of February without spending any money. No kidding. We'll pay the monthly bills, put gas in our cars to get to and from work and spend just $10 a week on milk and produce, but that's it. If it's discretionary, it's off limits. Click here to read the introductory post.)
Over the course of this month, some of you have asked where I get my frugal inspiration.
While nothing can replace a frugal friend in the flesh, my fellow frugal bloggers are often a close second.
Over the years, I've gotten some of my best ideas from frugal blogs.
The problem is the sheer volume of blogs out there that specialize in thrifty living.
For a time, I became so hooked on reading frugal blogs, I had little time left to actually be frugal.
That's when I started trimming my list.
I now limit myself to just a handful of blogs that I check daily and another handful I check in on periodically.
Though some of my favorite blogs overlap, all of them fall into three basic categories:
1. Deal blogs that provide info on the latest grocery and internet deals as well as up-to-date coupon info.
2. Idea/tip blogs that offer basic how-to information on saving money.
3. Day-in-the-life blogs that illustrate how families live frugally.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Money Saving Mom: A young mother of three, Crystal blogs from the Midwest about grocery and drugstore deals, Internet bargains and freebies. Interspersed amid the deals are glimpses of her own compelling frugal story, which began in a basement apartment. Thanks to her thrifty ways, her husband graduated from law school debt-free and they recently paid cash for their first home.
The Frugal Girl: Kristen, a homeschooling mother of four on the East coast, is handy with a camera and loads her frugal every-day living posts with lots of photos. She bakes her own bread, is a big advocate of cutting food waste, prefers Aldi's shopping over coupons and generally turns "making do" into an art form instead of drudge work.
The Non-Consumer Advocate: Katie blogs from the West Coast about her efforts to refrain from buying anything new with the exception of consumables. She lives by the Depression-era saying: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.
Small Notebook: Rachel writes about the joys (and struggles) of simple living in modern society. She normally blogs from Texas but she and her husband and two kids recently pared down their belongings and moved to Italy where she is blogging about simple living European-style.
Frugal Dad: One of the few male bloggers I read, Jason offers common sense advice on saving money, getting out of debt and planning for retirement - all from a dad's perspective. One recent post, titled 10 Things I Want My Kids to Know About Money Before They're Adults, was thoughtful and insightful.
Man Vs Debt: Baker and his wife and toddler are touring the country with all their worldly belongings tucked inside their RV. (Unbelievably, he has pictures up on his blog of every single item his little family owns.) He blogs about getting out from under the weight of debt to do what you love. This guy is following his own advice and having a good time.
What about you? What frugal blogs do you frequent?
Comments
Google "Eating Well for $1 a
Sun, 02/27/2011 - 19:39 — Oxymoron02Google "Eating Well for $1 a Day" (it won't let me post links).
I found that blog a few days in to it last year. He ended up feeding himself for 100 days for less than $1 per day. It was facinating to follow while he did it.
Since then, he's started Lazy Couponing. He's not done with it yet, but he's kind of sporadic. I check back every few weeks to see if there's something new.
Haven't read any of the one's you've posted (my husband is cursing you over my shoulder, not MORE blogs to follow). I follow some frugal communities on LiveJournal, but some member posts are more "OMG we're broke and need to be frugal now or we'll starve HAAAAALP" kind of posts. :)
I also follow Sue Stock here, and Faye Prosser over at WRAL. Local frugality is awesome because they get the same deals I can get. Deals blogs in Idaho are less useful, though I still read a few of those. :-)
This is a pretty awesome
Wed, 02/06/2013 - 19:58 — salenatgui