Monthly Archive: April 2020

39

This Month On The Homestead: Making Maple Syrup, Starting Vegetable Seeds, and Other Pandemic Pursuits

March 2020 March was weird. I’m not sure there’s a better way to put it. We did some homesteading stuff, but mostly I stress-ate homemade baked goods while listening to podcasts about the pandemic. Now that you know this about me, we can discuss how we made maple syrup, started some of our vegetable garden seeds, and kept our children (and selves) alive. I begin with an update to let you know that Glamour Shed...

129

Reader Case Study: Becoming a Travel Nurse and Stay-at-Home Dad During a Pandemic

Emily and Chase live in suburban Kansas City with their two young boys. They’d planned to head out in July on a family adventure of Emily working as a travel nurse in different cities every three months, while Chase became a stay-at-home dad. But then, the pandemic happened. Today they’re looking for advice on how to proceed and whether or not their plan is still viable in light of the coronavirus. What’s a Reader Case...

66

Grits And Other March 2020 Expenditures

March 2020 Ahh, March 2020. You will live forever in our minds as the month of both the Before Times and the After Times. We started the month celebrating my birthday with dinners out AT RESTAURANTS and ended March ensconced in our home, regarding  restaurants as dangerous, forbidden places of the past. It was the longest month on record–proven by data–and combing through our expenses felt akin to the excavation of a past civilization. Advertiser...

35

Uber Frugal Week Day 4: Emergency Funds, High-Interest Savings Accounts, and Using Credit Cards to Your Advantage

Today is devoted to a holistic review of where your money is and how it’s working for (or against) you, including: The importance of having an emergency fund Using high-interest savings accounts to make your money work for you Using credit cards responsibly and to your advantage Accessing additional lines of credit Welcome to Day 4 of my pandemic-inspired, what-do-I-do-with-my-money Uber Frugal Week series. For more about the series, including an overview of what I’ll...

41

Reader Suggestions on How To Earn Money From Home During the Pandemic

Wondering how to earn money from home during the pandemic? Today we hear from Frugalwoods readers who are making it happen: from a circus act owner to a veterinarian, you all are working it from home. Join me to find out how. Earlier this week, I discussed strategies for saving more money in (almost) every category of your budget. Today, I want to tackle the other end of the equation: earning more money. As we...

70

Uber Frugal Week Day 3: Saving More Money In (almost) Every Category Of Your Budget

Welcome to Day 3 of my pandemic-inspired, 8-day, what-do-I-do with my money, Uber Frugal Week series. For more about the series, including an overview of what I’ll cover each day, check this out. I recommend you read the series in order; start with Day 1 here. Read disclaimers about me and the series here. While the Uber Frugal Month is an email program, the Uber Frugal Week will appear right here on the blog in a...

41

Uber Frugal Week Day 2: What To Do if You’ve Lost Your Job and Other Coronavirus-Related Benefits

Welcome to Day 2 of my pandemic-inspired, 8-day, what-do-I-do with my money, Uber Frugal Week series. For more about this series, including an overview of what I’ll cover each day, check this out. I recommend you read the series in order; start with Day 1 here. Read disclaimers about me and the series here. While the Uber Frugal Month is an email program, the Uber Frugal Week will appear right here on the blog in...

84

Uber Frugal Week Day 1: Know What You Spend and Where You Can Save

Welcome to Day 1 of my pandemic-inspired, 8-day, what-do-I-do with my money, Uber Frugal Week series. For more about this series, including an overview of what I’ll cover each day, check out this. Uber Frugal Week: Day 1 We’re in a weird, uncertain time and when things get weird and uncertain, it’s time to save more money. I’m going to skip the goal-setting and discernment exercises we do during the Uber Frugal Month and assume...

98

Introducing the Uber Frugal Week: How to Manage Your Money in the Time Of Pandemic and Recession

The economic impact of the coronavirus is not good. Many businesses are shuttered for the foreseeable future. Last month a record-breaking number of people filed for unemployment in the United States. We’re barreling into a recession and I don’t think it’s going to be a short one either. I won’t sugarcoat this: the economy is bad and likely to get worse as isolation slows both the spread of the virus and the economy. With that...