Ann Leach

IS FRUGALITY BAD FOR THE ECONOMY? This topic comes up fairly regularly in certain frugal circles I'm in, and there is a fair amount of debate about it. So  this evening when I came across this article in Amy Dacyczyn's book "The Tightwad Gazette II" I was inspired to share. I'm sort of a politics/economics junkie. Every weeknight I forgo Wheel of Fortune to tune into The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour on PBS. The show's format includes a panel of experts on a given topic--who sharply disagree. When the topic is the recession, typically you can see a professor of economics from Harvard Business School duke it out with some guy who won the Nobel Prize for economics. Though I'm not an "expert," one question I have been asked to comment on it "If I'm frugal, isn't that bad for the economy?" It's true that plenty of economists believe we need to get that American consumer confident and spending again. This thinking, that w...

The only way to shop at a thrift store is with an open mind.... When I start a new skein of yarn, I wind it on to a toilet paper roll. I started doing this after coming across  this  idea for keeping yarn from running across the floor while crocheting. So while I do have a fair few balls of yarn wrapped on the toilet paper rolls, I hadn't yet found a stand to use. Until yesterday, when I found this beauty. I know, it's not technically a toilet paper holder, but hey...  it certainly does the job for yarn!! For $.79, it will do just fine for keeping my yarn from traveling while I'm working on a project. What have you found recently that makes do? Cheers! Ann

Money, the taboo topic.   We're taught, by our parents and the culture we live in, to not talk about money.  Don't talk about how much you make.  Don't talk about how much you spend.  Don't talk about the ins and outs of credit cards.  Don't talk about how much financing really costs. And if you're in a financial mess, don't talk about that either. So we're each alone in dealing with our finances.  Oh sure, you an ask your folks.  And get the lecture.  Or you can pay for a consultation with a financial advisor, and their sales pitch (usually).  But where can you just sit and talk about the basics? What if you just want to know you're not the only one who is bearing the consequences of a bad choice?  What if you just want to share ideas and hear other people's thoughts on what is working and not working? I propose that it starts here.  My sustainable living passion isn't just about the planet, environment, and being fruga...

Part of being a stay at home mom and making sustainable living choices is keeping expenses down, but the other part is to increase the income, too.  And working from home allows me to develop multiple small income avenues rather than just going after the one big avenue of income. With that in mind, I've been brainstorming, trying to come up with a project for the cold winter months.  I've kicked around various crochet ideas, but was truly inspired when I came across the idea of making custom pillowcases. Here are some photos of the one I whipped up this morning specifically so I could take photos to promote this new business venture. Isn't that a lovely pillowcase?  I can't wait to share with you all the pillowcases I have planned! Come spring, I'll add chickens, well eggs, as another avenue.  And of course the garden will go in which will reduce our food spending in a big way. What small avenues of income are you working on? ...

Yesterday's frugal win -- Husband showed me where the sole on his brand new dress shoes for work was already coming off. I suggested he take the shoes to the local shoe store that does repairs. Frugal win, right?  Not so much because we'd still be out the cost of the repair on a less than 3 weeks old pair of expensive shoes. So later when I realized I had no yeast to make bread and we were at the point where bread had to be either made or bought, and the store where I wanted to buy the bulk yeast is on the north side of town, I suggested we take the shoes back to the store of purchase which is also on the north side of town.  Frugal win!!  They happily replaced the shoes on the spot.  Didn't even have to wait for them to be ordered in. Here's the bread... What's your frugal win today?

If you had the opportunity to start with a clean slate in your kitchen and purchase only essential items, what would they be?  Would your kitchen have in it exactly what it has now?  Or would you do it differently? A year ago, when we arrived in Australia, I did have this opportunity, and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.  Most of our kitchenware and tableware came from the thrift stores and the local buy/swap fb page; although I did get a new set of cast iron pans from the camping expo, and a few bakeware items came from a regular retail store. The only item that I would have like to have was a food processor for weekly chopping of onions and grating of cheese.  But that said, I didn't lose any fingers doing it manually, so it's not so much a necessity as much as a strong like. Searching "kitchen essentials" on pinterest pointed me to some websites like this one:    http://jeanetteshealthyliving.com/2012/08/essential-equipment-supplies-for-firstcol...

The final days are flying by.  But this story started 2 weeks ago on a Tuesday.  Husband was home not feeling well, and somehow we both got to poking around the immigration website to find out what we needed to do next for me to get permanent residency in Australia. It didn't take long until we reached a point where we looked at each other and said we need to go to the office.  So in the span of a half hour, we went from pajamas to fully dressed and snacks packed.  We headed over to the kindy to pick up our daughter and hit the road down to Brisbane (3 hours) to meet with an agent at the immigration office. We were stunned to learn our best bet for getting my permanent residency approved was for the paperwork to be filed back in the states, and it would take 8 - 9 months for it to be processed.  We weren't expecting that.  Not even a little bit. Should I go back by myself?  Take our daughter?  How would we manage being apart so long?  W...

If you are looking for a way to reduce food waste, get a small fridge. "What??!!  Noooo..  I need a bigger fridge to put more food in because it's going bad!!" Think about what you just said.  Really, think about it.  You already have a fridge, probably a fairly spacious one.  And food is rotting in there.  Why?  Did it get pushed to the back (rotting zone)?  Is there more than one so one is good and the other bad?  Did you put it in there with all the best intentions of eating it tomorrow? And then forgot about it? See, I know whereof I speak.  I had one of those refrigerators.  It was big!  I mean really big!  It stuck out 6 inches in front of the kitchen counter.  And I was throwing away SO MUCH FOOD!  After a while, I started filling empty milk jugs and putting them in the back on each shelf, yep in the rotting zone.  That helped.  Finally when I opened the door, I could see everything in ther...

Winding down winter in Australia, I miss snow.  I like snow.  It's pretty.  I like the way it muffles sound.  I LOVE waking up to a fresh blanket of snow of a cold, crispy morning and being the first to make prints in the snow.  I like looking at the prints of other animals in the snow to see who visited while I was away. That said, I will miss the frugality of the Australia winter.  No winter snow boots.  No heavy winter coat.  No hat, scarf, and mittens.  I wore my capri pants all winter.  With sandels.  Oh yes, some of the mornings were cold and I borrowed mid-calf socks from my husband, but those days were few and far between.  Most days I wore a tshirt with a flannel shirt over it.  Or a singlet (tank top) under a blouse. No jacket.  Yes, winter in Australia is much more frugal than winter in the midwest of the US.

Yesterday, I popped a pork roast into the slow cooker with some potatoes, carrots and seasonings for a few hours.  And during clean-up, I poured off the liquids left into this jar for some pork stock.   Not sure yet what I'll do with pork stock, but I for sure wasn't going to just dump it out. What do you save back that others might be willing to toss?

French Bread -- hot right out of the oven Do you love crusty bread with a soft crumb on the inside?  I know I do and today, I ventured into the world of baking it at home. Baking bread is not as difficult and time-consuming as I want to think it is.  The biggest chunks of time go to rising which I don't need to be present for!  So join with me and we'll make french bread together. My set-up for bread-making:  mixer with large bowl, flour, yeast, salt, water, egg, whisk, rubber spatula, metal bowl for rising, and the breadbox. This recipe comes from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. French Bread 5 1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour 2 packages active dry yeast 2 tsp salt 2 cups warm water (115F to 120F) cornmeal 1 slightly beaten egg white (optional) 1 TBSP water (optional) Close-up of the ingredients In a large mixer bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, yeast, and salt.  Add warm water. Beat at low speed of electric mixer f...

Yesterday was a day for cooking!! For afternoon tea and playgroup, we're having the best scones that money can't buy! And an amazing thick hot chocolate. For supper, a simple, real macaroni and cheese. For the scones, I opened up my handy-dandy Better Homes and Gardens cookbook to page 84 to find THIS recipe for Biscuits Supreme: 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 grams) 3 tsp baking powder 2 tsp sugar 1/2 tsp cream of tartar 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 cup shortening (115 grams)  I use butter. 2/3 cup milk (160 ml) Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt.  Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Make a well in the center, add milk all at once.  Stir just until dough clings together.  Knead gently on a lightly floured surface for 10 to 12 strokes.  Roll or pat to 1/2 inch (1cm) thickness.  Cut with a 2-1/2 inch (6cm) biscuit cutter, dipping cutter in flour between cuts.  Transfer to an ungreased bakin...

We did it!!  That's me and DD, we set the Budget, Planned the Meals (or borrowed somebody else's meal plan), got our Morning Routines done and made the big shopping trip to Aldi.  Now our stockpiles are set for a month.  whew! If I truly had a full stockpile system in place, it would be for the better part of a year, not just a month.  But this is a starting place.  And it's done!    We have bought all the necessary ingredients for 25 dinners and it came to just under $180 Aus.  This is the meal plan shared here  ( http://www.iamthatlady.com/25-meals-for-under-150-at-aldi/ ).  I bought nearly everything on the list, and made up for the few I didn't get by picking up a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread just because K loves it and a few other items. Overall, I am very pleased and surprised that food prices here in Aus are that close to what they are in the US.  In my own mind, I had figured we were paying double. In our budget, we ...

I am reading "The Self-Sufficiency Handbook" by Alan & Gill Bridgewater and am getting so much from it. The chapter on self-sufficient houses has this list for improvements: 1 -- Fit good heavy curtains to all the windows and exterior doors.  Open the windows during the day and close close them at night to keep the heat in.  Wear layered clothes when the weather is cold. 2 -- Replace all single-pane windows with double- or even triple-glazed units. 3 -- Reduce the number of exterior doors. 4 -- Insulate the roof space and all cavity walls.  If you have solid walls, add insulation to the inside or outside faces. 5 -- In the northern hemisphere, reduce the number or size of north-facing windows and increase the size and number of south-facing windows; vice versa if you live in the southern hemisphere. 6 -- Install a woodburning stove, and remove items like electric gas and electric fires.  Fit vents and ducts so that you can channel excess around the house....

                I am in a book group and we're discussing this book and since I'm leading the discussions, I thought this would be a good place to share the discussions.                 There is a subculture here in the USA which came through the 2008 crash without experiencing huge lay-offs and financial distress.   The Amish, with their simple lifestyle and tight communities, clotheslines and buggies, are doing some things right, and the rest of us, the Englischers, might learn something from them.                 “When compared to our Englischer money bungles, the Amish way of wealth is a whole inverted lifestyle of thrift, self-control, carefulness, sharing, and community.   It’s a curious prosperity—a rootedness, simplicity, and a step back to “q...