Mother Earth News is the ultimate resource for people who want to live in a simpler, back to nature style. If you are new to sustainable living and an organic lifestyle and want to jump in with both feet, you’ll love the Live on Less page that the magazine has put up on its website.
The articles on debt free home building and home ownership looked like they’d be right up our alley. I also think I’ll check out the article on recycled wool rugs. My great grandma used to make beautiful hooked rag rugs and I have two …read more

Have you ever heard yourself saying, “I need…” only to realize you really mean you want or desire that thing? I’ve done it more than once. Luckily, I rarely went out and bought whatever it was while thinking I still desperately needed it, but I’ll share one of the times I did act on a want thinking it was a need.
I had a nice little digital camera that worked perfectly well for family snapshots, but I decided I needed a new one to take better photos for my blogs and to take photos for a magazine I was publishing. …read more

Many times, people focus so much on being thrifty with tangible resources, like money or recyclables, that they forget to think about a resource that is just as valuable – their time. Time is a resource we can’t replace. Once a minute is gone, it is gone.
Surveys, Reward Programs and More
One way many people who are trying to be thrifty really end up wasting time is with surveys, reward programs, paid to read email programs and similar programs. Some of these programs are wonderful and definitely worthwhile. Others, not so much.

So, I’ve been too busy to go shopping this week. I didn’t go to the thrift store, I sent my mom off alone instead of window shopping while she did a last minute buying trip…I barely left the house. Coincidentally, I didn’t spend money, but that wasn’t the only thrifty thing that happened.
I didn’t want more stuff. I was happy and content with everything I had. Now, I know if I would have gone to Macy’s, I would have wanted a new sheet set, a cute throw rug, those sweet new holiday dishes in pink and green…something I didn’t …read more

Poverty. It is a terrible thing. As thrifty people, many of us aren’t rolling in dough, but hopefully none of my readers go to bed hungry or live out of their cars. Hopefully, you all have fresh water to drink and bathe in. Hopefully, your children can get the medical care they need.
The more I focus on wasting less, the more I feel troubled at the waste all around me. That cardboard box from a new appliance the guy up the street just folded into his trash can? A person in a warmer climate would have moved into it. That lunch …read more

What can you give up to save money? What’s extreme to you?
I haven’t bought a book in a couple of years now. My whole life I always used the library; getting the bulk of my books there, but that doesn’t mean I never bought books. I used to buy books all the time. My general rule was if I check it out from the library more than once, I should just buy it.
I woke up one day and decided not to buy books anymore. I can’t live without books, and I do like to own them, so not buying them …read more

As noted previously, I LOVE my blender. If it died, well, worse things could happen, but I’d be pretty darn upset. Also, to make matters worse, I’d have to fork over money for a new blender. Or maybe not.
At the Gourmet Depot, there’s a handy little tool you can use to find and order spare parts for all sorts of kitchen gadgets. This is great say, if you break a coffee pot, or your blades on your blender get bent out of shape. You can find parts for just about every home appliance there is, and they make it easy …read more

Emotional spenders may shop, not when they need an item, or even when they particularly want an item, but they do shop when they feel loved, unloved, bored, tired, agitated, happy, depressed, or some other mood. Emotional shopping is addictive for some, and can allow a person to feel a nice little high. But we all know emotional shopping is not truly ok. It’s not shopping based on real need.
If you have some issues with emotional shopping, the best thing to do is to create some hard and fast rules to abide by. You can try the following:
Leave the credit …read more

This month, Lifestyles decided to have a little fun with one of summer’s favorite pastimes – picnics & potlucks. Here are all the tips from around the channel, there’s recipes, tips and a few laughs thrown in for free.

Just because you choose to live thrifty doesn’t mean you have to throw a thrifty picnic. Here at Simply Thrifty we looked at tips for an elegant and inexpensive potluck
At Declutter It you can read five tips to help you organize your summer BBQ. 
Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch by Robust Cooking
Watermelon Raspberry Lemonade at All Holiday Cafe
Rice Krispie Treats at Keeping the Castle
Homemade …read more

Sheesh! Ten years? Where has the time gone? Today, my husband and I celebrate ten years of marriage. In that short amount of time, we have spent much accomplished much. We’ve created seven humans, purchased three houses, sold two houses, maxed out several credit cards, paid off almost all of those cards, gone grocery shopping over 520 times, spent over 15,000 dollars in doctor bills, bought four cars, saved a few thousand dollars, opened a 401k and started two businesses.
I look back on all of the money that we have spent in only ten years and it makes me ill to think of …read more