Welp, we had some rot. Specifically, the trim around one of our exterior windows was rotting away. How can you tell if window trim is rotting away? It feels like a sponge when you poke it. Wood is not supposed to resemble a sponge. Since winter is coming (don’t laugh, we have embarrassingly short summers!), Mrs. Frugalwoods and I are trying to knock out a few needed projects on the exterior of the ol’ Frugalwoods home and...
Do you want to travel internationally? Do you want to save money doing so? Would you like to see a photo of a windmill? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this post is for you! I seem to be on a “writing about our hobbies” kick, so I thought I’d continue in this vein by delving into how Mr. Frugalwoods and I manage to travel internationally on our frugal weirdos budget. First of...
Yoga is what grounds me. It keeps me from falling off the deep end of my thoughts. It curbs stress, annihilates anxiety and makes me centered, focused, and at peace. My yoga studio offers free classes in exchange for receptionist work, so I staff the check-in desk for 30 minutes once a week. I register my fellow yogis for class, collect their money, ask if they want a mat, mop the studio floor, and take out the trash after...
Uh, not sure how this got published, we seem to have a breach in security here at Frugalwoods. I’ll just leave this here without further comment. -Mrs. Frugalwoods Hello readers, Frugal Hound here. I know my humans think my only contribution to Frugalwoods is my photos, but I’m here to tell you that I’m not just another pretty face. Although I do have a very pretty face. My parents tell me so all the time! I feel that...
Woot This week’s woot is courtesy of a very thoughtful recognition from Bee over at The Barefoot Budgeter who nominated our lil ol’ blog for a Liebster Award. Thank you Bee! I am honored! Here are the hilarious and deeply generous things Bee said about us: “This really is one of my favorite blogs, new or old. I kind of feel like a stalker fangirl, but I will continue to read and harass comment until they take out a blog restraining order....
Welcome! We’re ex-urban, rookie homesteaders finding contentment (and a lot of chores) on 66 acres in rural central Vermont along with our our two young daughters. I’m Liz, better known as Mrs. Frugalwoods, and I write about a wide range of topics, including my experiences as a parent, my adventures as a novice homesteader, and the financial decisions that made our life possible. My philosophy is that managing your money wisely enables you to pursue...
Of your grocery budget, that is. Reflecting on how we got ourselves to an 82% savings rate, we realized that our grocery budget played a starring role in the reductions. And one of the largest culprits on our shopping list: breakfast. We were buying three different types of breakfasts to enjoy throughout the week. THREE! Insanity, I tell you! I wrote about how we frugalized our entire grocery budget, but I wanted to focus on breakfast because a)...
P.S. I’m starting off with a P.S. because this is my Woot & Grumble and we’ve already established that I don’t follow prescribed codes of conduct very well. When I sat down to pen my Weekly Woot & Grumble last night, I experienced mild anxiety. Why? Well, for the first time in our little blog’s life span (we debuted to zero readers in April 2014), I get the sneaking suspicion that people (other than our parents; hi Mom, Dad, Mom-in-law, Dad-in-law)...
It’s glorious summer in New England, which lasts about 11 minutes before we return to epic winter, so we’re relishing the great outdoors. All around us, people are dropping dough on kayak rentals, croquet sets, badminton shuttlecocks, pool noodles, and sunscreen (just rub some free mud on your skin, people!). I jest. A few years ago, Mr. Frugalwoods and I discovered the one weird trick to free summer entertainment and I’ll share it with you now: hiking. Plus,...
Mr. Frugalwoods and I are not above taking things out of the trash–in fact, quite the opposite. We fancy ourselves experts in the procurement of others’ unwanted goods, specifically those found on the side of the road. After all my frugal friends, why pay when you can find it free?!? Am I right? There’s a lot we don’t glean from the trash: used mattresses, musty shoes, and couches of questionable provenance. But there are simply amazing finds to...
