I started a clothing-focused mini-series over the summer wherein I managed to devote two ENTIRE posts to the topic of just me and my clothing alone:

• My Ever-Evolving Relationship With My Clothes
• The Clothes I Wear For Comfort and Confidence

Riveting as that was, a number of you requested I write about the clothing of the other people in my house. In response, today I bring you a deep dive into the closets of my children, Kidwoods, age 7 and Littlewoods, age 4.

The Hand-Me-Down Train Continues

We’ve been on the used/hand-me-down train since before the girls were born and haven’t disembarked yet. I get the bulk of their clothing (and shoes, toys, books, puzzles, etc) from three sources:

1) Garage sales.

The vast majority of their clothing (and everything else) comes from yard sales because it’s often one-stop shopping AND they have the best prices.

Continue reading How I’ve Saved Thousands of Dollars on Clothes for My Kids at Frugalwoods.

I know, I know, Black Friday is dumb; but since it exists, I figured I’d offer a coupon code for 10% off:

• An hourlong phone call with me (that’s $25 off)
• A basic financial consultation with me (that’s $150 off)
• A premium financial consultation with me (that’s $300 off)
• A spot in an Uber Frugal Month Mastermind group (that’s $30 off)

You can purchase any of the above for yourself OR as a gift certificate to give to anyone in your life who needs some Frugalwoodsy financial help. The coupon codes, which you enter at check-out, are:

• FRUGAL-FRIDAY-GC if you’d like to purchase a gift certificate
• FRUGAL-FRIDAY-AP if you’d like to purchase this for your own self

Move fast because these things expire on Monday, November 28th at midnight (12:00am Eastern Standard Time).

Continue reading Yes, I Actually Have a Black Friday Sale for You at Frugalwoods.

I’m all about starting new things these days and so, I’m launching a BRAND NEW way to participate in my Uber Frugal Month Challenge: Mastermind Groups!!!! These will be a chance for you to meet (on video) with me and nine other frugal folks once a week for five weeks starting in January. If you don’t want to read another word and just want to join a group, go here. Otherwise, read on!

What Will We Do In Each Mastermind Meeting?

Over my six years of running the Uber Frugal Month, I’ve received countless emails and messages from participants asking to talk through the issues that crop up for them during the challenge. These conversations have shown me there’s a lot of value in workshopping financial questions. Money is something we’re not supposed to talk about and so many of us just don’t.

Continue reading Introducing UFM Mastermind Groups! at Frugalwoods.

I’m starting something new, people! I love helping folks with their money, so I’m going to do more of it. Starting today, you can schedule a one-on-one Private Reader Case Study with me. These consultations will bear a striking resemblance to my on-the-blog Reader Case Studies, but will be confidential, will include a phone/video call, and will cost money. If you don’t want to read any more of my blathering and just want to sign-up, go here.If you want to refer a friend to me, send them here.

Why Are You Doing This?

1. I love helping people with their money!
2. I receive so many applications for on-the-blog Case Studies that I’ll never be able to publish them all.
3. I receive lots of requests for private Reader Case Studies from folks who do not want their information shared publicly on the internetz.

Continue reading Introducing Private Reader Case Studies! at Frugalwoods.

I have a hectic relationship with clothing. In my 20s and early 30s, I worshipped it. I stuffed the closets of our various rental apartments with beaded slip-on loafers I bought at an outdoor market in Strasbourg, France; a vintage bubblegum-pink stewardess dress I liberated from a Goodwill in rural Kansas; a red Banana Republic raincoat I found (with tags on) at a consignment store in Boston.

Recently, a number of readers–mostly also young (am I still young?) moms–have asked me what I wear and how I approach my relationship with clothing these days. Longtime readers will recall my three-year-long all-out ban on buying clothing. I successfully went three years without buying anything because I desperately needed a re-set. I bought clothes at thrift stores and yard sales constantly. I had enough to clothe an entire soccer team. Several teams.

I’ve only recently realized how intertwined my clothing obsession was with my previously undiagnosed depression and anxiety.

Continue reading My Ever-Evolving Relationship With My Clothes at Frugalwoods.

Knowing where your money’s at is the first step in financial planning. Before you can set goals, panic about having no money, or compliment yourself on your ability to buy a new back scratcher, you’ve got to know:

1. What you earn
2. What you spend
3. Your debts
4. Your assets
5. In other words, your overall net worth!

Lucky for us, there’s a FREE service that’ll do all of this for us. It’s called Personal Capital. I talk about it all the time. I use it all the time. Today I’ll explain why.

Everything In One Place

When folks do a Reader Case Study here on Frugalwoods, the most time consuming–and critical–aspect is compiling all their financial information. It’s basically Marie Kondo-ing your money:

• Where are those college t-shirts you received for winning beer ping pong?

Continue reading How to Know Everything About Your Money: Why I Use and Recommend Personal Capital at Frugalwoods.

Inflation is here: it’s large, it’s in charge, it’s up 8.5% as of March 2022, which is the biggest 12-month increase since 1981. Woohoo! Aren’t we lucky! But all is not (totally) lost because inflation doesn’t impact all prices equally. As we’ll explore together today, this is an uneven inflationary period: almost everything is more expensive, but some things are hit harder than others.

What Exactly IS Inflation???!!!

Before we dive into how inflation affects us on an individual level, let’s spend some time in Liz’s Definition Corner. Inflation is one of those terms everyone thinks they should know and assumes everyone else knows, but in reality a lot of us are not sure but afraid to ask because we assume everyone else knows… 

I kind of knew what inflation was before this year–like in very general terms–but now I’m deeply curious about what it really is.

Continue reading How to Survive Inflation and Make it Work for You at Frugalwoods.

Q: What’s the easiest way to earn extra money?

A: A cash back credit card!

I made $712.59 last year by using my cash back credit card. Not bad for buying stuff I was going to buy anyway! A cash back credit card gives you a predetermined percentage of money back on purchases you make with that card. Some cards offer a flat percentage whereby they give you the same percentage back on every single thing you buy. Others have rotating percentages or different percentages for different categories of purchases. Both options are super simple ways to make money while spending money. The percentages are typically pretty low (my card gives a flat 2% cash back), so you’re not going to make a million dollars. But hey, it’s one of the easiest ways to make a couple hundred bucks!

Come Hear Me Talk this Friday, April 8th!

Continue reading How I Made $712.59 With My Cash Back Credit Card at Frugalwoods.

Today’s a serious one and includes a content warning: I’ll be discussing domestic violence and intimate partner abuse. So take care and skip this one if you need to. If you’re in an unsafe situation, or know someone who is, you can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) or by texting “START” to 88788.

I’m writing this not to solve the problem or offer solutions, but to raise awareness. April is financial literacy month and I cannot think of a more pressing topic to address because:

Up to 99% of domestic violence victims experience economic abuse during an abusive relationship, and finances are often cited as the biggest barrier to leaving an abusive relationship (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence).

The Prevalence of Intimate Partner/Domestic Violence

I serve on the board of my local domestic violence support/prevention organization and I’ve been thinking for years that I should write about financial abuse.

Continue reading Raising Awareness About Economic Abuse and Domestic Violence: How You Can Help at Frugalwoods.

It’s rare to be a beginner as an adult. As kids, “beginner” described our lives. Everything a kid does is new. They’re inexperienced and unafraid of grabbing a sweet potato and peeler for the first time ever and skimming the blade over the peel without hesitation.

But as adults, we almost never put ourselves in the position of not knowing how to do something. We drive our cars via muscle memory, we do the laundry out of habit, we’re confident in our careers and we know how to peel sweet potatoes without impaling ourselves. This makes our lives stable, secure, predictable and perhaps a tad too rote.

Earlier this year, I made myself a beginner. A complete and total beginner.

I Learned To Ski

My husband, two of our friends and I took an adult learn-to-ski class starting in early January. At the first class, I didn’t know how to put on my skis.

Continue reading How I Gave Myself the Gift of Being a Beginner at Frugalwoods.