Has marriage been reduced to an economic decision?

There’s a lot to cover from the 5th chapter of (Not) Keeping Up With Our Parents by Nan Mooney. So much, in fact, that I’m going to break this chapter into two posts. This super-long chapter covers both marriage and children. I’ll cover marriage today and children next week.

Mooney brings up a lot of issues facing couples (and singles) today. She says most of these issues are caused by the squeeze on the middle class. I honestly don’t think these issues have as much to do with the financial squeeze as they do with the changing value system in America. Here are a few of the issues Mooney brings up.

The Financial Need to Couple Up

Mooney asserts that there is a pressure in today’s society to couple up for financial reasons. Because it’s hard to survive on one income these days, Mooney suggests that single people feel the pressure to get married for financial security.

I can’t really speak to this issue, as I was 23 when I got married, and I definitely didn’t marry for financial security. That thought never crossed my mind. Perhaps some readers could elaborate on this subject in the comments. Do people feel pressure to marry for financial security today?

Reluctance to Combine Finances

According to Mooney, most couples today, especially those living together, but not married (but also some married couples), are reluctant to combine finances.

I can only speak to marriage, but I don’t like the idea of separate finances for married couples. The whole point of a marriage is union…becoming one. How united can you be, if you insist on keeping your finances completely separate? I’m not talking about separate accounts for “fun money,” but a “we both pay for half the mortgage, half the utilities, etc” approach.

Arguments about money happen in the best of marriages. My guess is that they’re easier to resolve if you know you have to compromise. It seems that if a couple’s finances were kept completely separate, it would be easy to hold your half of the money hostage in the heat of the moment, causing a further rift in the marriage.

Mooney also says that since divorce is so high, couples are keeping finances separate “just in case.” I also don’t like that approach. I know I’ll probably take some flack for this, but I don’t like assuming failure.

Power Imbalanced Couples

These days there’s a lot of talk about fairness in marriage. Men and women split household chores 50/50. Each is supposed to take equal time off work to care for sick children.

In reality, marriage is never a 50/50 split. Since when was life fair? Don’t we tell our children to get used to the fact that life isn’t fair? When I was newly married, someone gave me the best marriage advice I’ve ever heard. She said,

Marriage isn’t a 50/50 partnership. It’s a 100/100 partnership. There will be times your spouse doesn’t give anything, and you have to be willing to give 100%. There will also be times when you don’t feel like giving anything, and your spouse will have to give 100%.

And it’s true. Marriage can’t be reduced to a set of rules and standards. Marriage isn’t about “me & you” or “my rights & your rights.” Marriage is about “us.” What’s best for us. The commitment to us. One quote from this chapter really bothered me.

“I hate, hate, hate that, even if I’m working, I can barely contribute,” says Vickie, and adjunct college professor and freelance writer who makes $20,000 a year and whose husband supports them both on his $90,000 salary as a software engineer. “He could get by if I wasn’t there, but I’m entirely dependent on him. Even though I’ve worked just as hard to build a career. It’s very difficult to accept that I can’t get by without him. It’s not how I was raised or, I like to think, who I am.”

That saddens me. I can’t imagine feeling that way in marriage. My husband, up until recently, has made 100% of our income. I think this chapter is more telling about the state of marriage today than about economics of the middle class. And it’s a sad statement. Marriage isn’t a competition as to who can contribute more financially.

This chapter depressed me, not because the middle class can’t afford to live anymore, but because marriage, according to this book, has become less of a sacred union between two people and more of an economic convenience.

Stay tuned next Monday when I cover the second half of the chapter, which focuses on raising children.

What do you think about these issues? Is Mooney spot on? Is she way off? What does this say about the state of marriage in today’s society?

To read previous posts in this series, see

• (Not) Keeping Up With Our Parents
• The Rise and Fall of the Middle Class
• The Cost of a College Education
• Career Struggles

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Here she is. I realize it’s not the best quality video, but I’m a proud mama, so I don’t care. Those of you reading in a feed reader or through email might have to click through to the site to see the video.

Enjoy, and I’ll be back with a frugal post tomorrow. I’m spending today with my family.

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Influential Blogger is putting on a writing project, focusing on the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2008, and this gives me the opportunity to highlight some of my favorite blogs….blogs I see as movers and shakers this year.

The top emerging blogs are restricted to blogs that began in July 2007 or later. And since I live in the personal finance blogosphere, you’re going to notice a bias toward personal finance blogs in my top 10.

Without further ado, here are my picks for the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2008, in no particular order.

1. Moolanomy - Pinyo, the author of Moolanomy, has one of the sharpest entrepreneurial minds of anyone I’ve ever met (in the online sense, anyway). His financial wisdom is reflected in his blog. Moolanomy is quickly becoming the go-to blog for information on building wealth.

2. Gather Little by Little - There are lots of personal finance blogs around, but few written directly for Christians. Gather Little by Little fills that niche. Glblguy’s writing style is straightforward and honest. Definitely a leader in Christian personal finance!

3. Frugal Dad - Frugal living blogs aren’t hard to find these days, but a frugal living blog written from a man’s perspective isn’t that common. Frugal Dad fills hole in the blogosphere, for sure. He’s only been blogging since the end of December, and he already has over 700 subscribers and has been linked by Lifehacker! Watch this one!

4. The Wisdom Journal - The Wisdom Journal also entered the blogosphere with a bang. Only 5 months old, The Wisdom Journal has already hit the second page of Digg! Ron is the master of writing a good list, and I always enjoy his tips on life!

5. Skelliwag - This blog has already become an authority on growing a reader-friendly blog. In the short time Skellie has been blogging at Skelliwag, her site has grown to over 2400 readers! She also has a regular column at ProBlogger, which is no small thing, either. Skelliewag goes beyond the category of emerging….Skelliewag has arrived!

6. Blissfully Domestic - Blissfully Domestic is a 4 month old group blog/magazine. Covering topics from marriage to frugality to parenting and much more, Blissfully Domestic already has a loyal readership. They have a cool social media site, too!

7. Money Saving Mom - If you need to find the latest Walgreen’s and CVS deals, Money Saving Mom is the place to go! Even though this blog is less than a year old, Crystal, the blog author, is already an expert on saving money and bringing in extra income. Her readers are very loyal, and I expect her site to continue it’s rapid growth.

8. Mrs. Micah - Mrs. Micah’s tagline, Finance for a Freelance Life, describes her site perfectly. A newly married young woman, Mrs. Micah is ambitious and creative, and that comes through clearly on her blog. Always full of new ideas, I expect Mrs. Micah to go far.

9. Social Media Mom - If you want the latest info on social media, Social Media Mom won’t disappoint! Whether you’re interested in Twitter, Sphinn, Stumbleupon, Skirt, or any of the others, Social Media Mom is up to date on what’s hot…and what’s not.

10. Simple Mom - Though only a few months old, Simple Mom is quickly becoming an authority on simple living and organization. This blog is one to be watched for sure!

Be sure to check back at Influential Blogger to keep up with the picks for the Top 10 Emerging Influential Bloggers of 2008. And to nominate your own picks, read the rules here and write a post of your own.

Have a great weekend!

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I’m really trying to eat healthier, but it’s expensive!

I’ve mentioned before that I’m on a health kick lately. This is actually rather amazing, because I used to have no problems eating a fast food burger and fries for dinner on a regular basis.

Then I started reading blogs like Squawkfox (make sure you check out her frugalicious foods) and Nutrition Fitness Life, and now I can’t stomach the thought of french fries and greasy burgers anymore. That’s a good thing, right?

Like any changes I’ve ever made in life, I decided to research healthy living. I picked the book Shoppers Guide to Healthy Living. It’s a lot better than it sounds. At first I thought it would be a book trying to sell you a bunch of “health” products, but it’s not. It’s basically advice from a woman who totally changed her family’s consumption from fast food and junk to all natural and organic products.

It was a quick read. I think it took me an afternoon. The author, Kathy Loidolt, provides a 5 phase plan for transitioning to a healthy lifestyle. In each phase she tells you what to buy (in general terms…not brand names) and what to avoid. She does provide some brand names at the end of the book to get you started, so you’re not overwhelmed.

I was impressed, and decided to jump right in. The problem is, in the first phase I’m supposed to give up meat and chicken with hormones. Organic, free-range, grain fed meat is EXPENSIVE!!!! As is organic produce, though I haven’t checked the weekly farmer’s market yet.

So my question to you this week is how far do you go to eat, drink, live a healthy lifestyle? Do you eat organic? If so, what? Just fruits and veggies? Meat? Canned goods? Personal care products? And how do you budget for it? Did your grocery bill go up? How do you cut costs, yet still eat the way you want to?

I obviously have a lot to learn. At least I’m avoiding McDonald’s. That’s a small victory!

Photo by Bludgeoner86.

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My biggest organizational struggle is paper clutter.

This week I’ve been busy getting ready for my yard sale tomorrow. I’m proud to say that my house is mostly decluttered, save for the huge pile of stuff in my family room, waiting to be sold. Unfortunately, because I’ve been spending too much time decluttering, I haven’t spent ANY time writing.

Since I don’t have a post ready to go, I’m bringing back a post from my archives. Originally written on August 28, 2007, I’ve updated some of the information. I thought organization was a timely subject this week.

Enjoy! Things should be back to normal tomorrow!

Most of the time I’m a fairly organized person. There are times, however, when organization goes out the window, and the clutter in my life begins to pile up. It’s at these times that frugality goes out the window.

An example of how disorganization cost me happened yesterday. We received a call from the YMCA on Friday reminding us that the deadline for soccer sign-ups was today. So yesterday I loaded up the kids and drove to the YMCA to sign them up for soccer. I knew soccer sign-ups were in August, but I never called to find out when they started.

Had I called, I would have known that the early sign-up deadline was August 21. Because I missed that deadline, I had to pay an extra $5 for each of my children. You may say it’s only $10, but $10 mistakes can add up quickly.

Other symptoms that disorganization is costing you are:

• eating out too often, because you don’t know what’s for dinner
• buying duplicate items, because you don’t know what you already have on hand
• washing one outfit at a time, because you need to wear a particular outfit tomorrow, but you forgot to throw it in the laundry with the rest of your clothes a few days ago
• paying a higher interest rate, because you forgot to pay your bill on time
• paying late fees, because you forgot to return a book or dvd to the library

What is the answer? Learn to be more organized. Yes, organization can be learned! Some resources for learning to be organized are:

Flylady.net. In simple steps, Flylady teaches you to organize your home little by little. I have had a lot of success using morning routines and weekly home blessings. When my home is organized, I don’t feel overwhelmed by clutter, and I am more productive.

Getting Things Done. I had heard great things about this book, but I didn’t know if it would apply to a stay at home mom like me. I read it, and I have found ways to apply it, especially when it comes to paper clutter! David Allen presents a pretty good system for filing and keeping track of all the papers and emails that make their way into our lives. I recommend this book for anyone who has trouble with paper clutter.

If Getting Things Done is too much for you, Leo Babauta of Zen Habits has written an e-book called Zen to Done. I’ve read about 2/3 of it so far, and its a great alternative to Getting Things Done! It simplifies the GTD system and helps turn the ideas from GTD into simple actions that anyone can do. As a stay at home mom, Zen to Done has been perfect for me!

HouseWorks is a great book if you really don’t know where to begin with the clutter in your house. Written by Cynthia Townley Ewer, the CEO of Organized Home, this book is a wealth of information from how to declutter your house to how to clean things. I wish this book would have been around when I first got married!

Having a tough time with meal planning? Try Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely. This book has 6 weeks worth of dinner menus for every season of the year, complete with grocery shopping lists. Copy the list, cook, and eat! It doesn’t get easier than that! The recipes are very healthy. The groceries cost me more than what I personally budget for a week, but it’s still less expensive than eating out. Leanne also has a website, where you can get menu plans emailed to you every week for a fee.

A free option is Menus4Moms. I love this website when I’m strapped for time, because I can get 5 dinner plans for the week plus a grocery list FREE! The grocery list also includes an estimate for the cost of the week’s groceries. I’ve found that it’s usually pretty accurate. The menus aren’t quite as healthy as the Saving Dinner menus, but they’re kid friendly, and still much healthier than eating a Big Mac.

You now you have some resources to help you get organized. No more excuses for unpaid bills and last minute trips to McDonald’s for dinner! Now excuse me while I do a 27 Fling Boogie!

If you have a favorite website or tip for getting organized, please share it in the comments!

Photo by stopnlook.

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It’s hard to believe graduation season is here already!

The following is a regular feature by Kyle of Rather-Be-Shopping. If you like this post, consider subscribing to his blog’s RSS feed.

I was driving past a local high school the other day with my window rolled down and I swore I could smell the Senioritis. Graduation season is officially in the air! All of that hard work is coming to an end for many young men and women. In just a few short weeks, they will sit in their acetate robes in the blazing sun on football fields all across this land and pretend to listen to a variety of long speeches. I have sat through four myself, from junior high school all the way up to my graduate degree I received last year.

We have a couple high school graduations to attend this year and it got me thinking about some of the gifts I have received that meant a lot to me and did not cost a lot of money. Since this is Being Frugal.net, I thought I would share a few and also give some related coupons that may be helpful.

Gifts For High School Graduates:

~ Homemade “Life Hurts” First-Aid Kit. I was given one when I graduated and I used it all the way through college. I remember I used all the Ibuprofen, band aids, and Neosporin first, so it may be worth stuffing the kit with extra.

~ A Gift From The Heart. Write a journal full of advice you wish you had received when you went away to college. Or perhaps a personalized scrap book so they can chronicle their college experience.

~ Pre-Paid Calling Card. With the popularity of cell phones, this one may be a dying breed. But I still think it is a very useful gift in case the kid either doesn’t have a cell phone, or their car breaks down and they are not in cell phone range.

~ Dollar Bill Wrapping Paper. My Aunt actually wrapped a book with dollar bills. It still sticks out in my head as one of the more creative and fun gifts I have ever received. I just wish the book had been an Atlas!

~ Movie Passes. Many movie theaters offer discounts this time of year on gift cards. Always a popular gift.

~ Book Bag / Backpack. After 4 years of high school, most student’s backpacks are pretty much shot, at least mine was. My parents gave me a nice JanSport backpack that lasted me all the way through college and graduate school. They only cost around $25.

~ College Spirit Gift. If the student already has their college picked out, a clock or poster from that college makes a fun and inexpensive gift.

~ Bathroom Kit. Stock it with shampoo, soap, hand towels, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving cream, etc. As a receiver of one of these, it was a not only very convenient but saved me so much time when I was trying to get ready to go off to college.

~ Funny, Yet Useful Gifts. A case of Top Ramen or microwave popcorn comes to mind.

Gifts For College Graduates:

~ Organizer/Planner. Any 22-year old entering the “real’ world is going to have to get organized real quick! A nice touch is to have it engraved with the date of the graduation ceremony.

~ Inspirational Book. My parents gave me “Oh the Places You’ll Go!” by Dr. Seuss, and wrote a nice personal note on the inside front cover. I still take a look at that book, and what they wrote to me, when I need a little pick-me up.

~ Engraved Pocket Watch. Not necessarily a frugal gift, but certainly one that I cherish and will become a family heirloom when I pass it down to my son.

What thoughtful, but relatively inexpensive graduation gift have you either gave or received? Please add to my list by commenting below!

Here are some online coupons that may help you when shopping for the graduate in your life.

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Photo by Thiru Murugan.

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A sweet moment with my husband between picture poses.

This post was written as an entry to the Best Wedding Tips and Stories Contest at Moolanomy. If you want to enter, find out more about it here. The prize is a $50 Amazon GC or $50 cash!

These days the average cost of a wedding in the United States is between $18,000 and $21,000. $21,000 is more money than I made my first year out of college!

Fortunately for those who don’t want to spend the cost of a new car on their wedding, there are options. When my husband and I got married almost 13 years ago, we spent less than $5000, and we have no regrets about our wedding. Here’s what we did to trim the costs.

Utilize People You Know

People love to help out for a wedding. We enlisted the help of a lot of people. We found that when we hired people we knew, they would often give us a discount or provide their services free of charge as a wedding gift to us. To be clear, we didn’t ask for or expect discounts, but we accepted services that were offered as wedding gifts.

A friend’s aunt made the bridesmaid dresses from fabric I found on sale. The bridesmaid dresses cost much less than they would have, if I’d used a bridal shop. That saved my bridesmaids a good deal of money.

A woman from our church made our wedding cake. It was absolutely gorgeous, and it was less expensive than the store-bought counterpart.

A friend of my husband’s took our wedding pictures. We got tons of pictures for a minimal price, and we got to keep the negatives. Most professional photographers won’t let you keep the negatives, so you’re stuck paying exorbitant prices if you want to order more pictures.

Friends and family donated their services in running the sound board for the ceremony and videotaping our wedding.

Saving On Decorations

Consider making your own decorations. That’s what I did, and I’m not even that crafty. They turned out great, and it saved a lot of money. I did splurge on flowers, because they were important to me (and my mom).

We also used balloons for the reception. Balloons are inexpensive, fun, and festive. They’re also easy to put up and take down. And kids love them too, so any children at your reception will be easily entertained.

We made our own wedding favors by wrapping Jordan Almonds in tulle and tying them with a pretty bow. And the birdseed that was thrown (in lieu of rice) was also wrapped in tulle by my friends and me.

We have friends who saved on decorations by holding their wedding in December. In December most churches are beautifully decorated with lights and red poinsettias. No other decorations are needed.

Saving on Food

Timing is important here. We held an afternoon wedding, so we didn’t have to provide dinner. If I remember correctly, we had some snack food for the guests and plenty of wedding cake and punch. And that’s all. Our reception was short and informal. We knew we’d want to move on to the honeymoon after the wedding was over.

For our rehearsal dinner, we had a barbeque in our church’s fellowship hall. It was my dad’s idea, and I was skeptical, but it turned out great. Some distant relatives ran the grill, friends of mine brought side dishes, and the meal was delicious. We also had room for everyone we wanted to invite to the rehearsal dinner, and we were in a relaxed atmosphere. My husband and I got to visit with every person at the rehearsal dinner without feeling rushed.

After the rehearsal dinner, friends and family pitched in to decorate the fellowship hall for our reception the next day.

Our wedding definitely wasn’t the high society event of the year, but that was OK with us. We wanted a relaxed time to celebrate with family and friends, and we didn’t want to begin our marriage deeply in debt. And we accomplished both of our goals.

The important thing to remember is that a wedding should be about marriage, and you don’t want to put your marriage in jeopardy by starting off in debt from your wedding. Stick to your budget, don’t go into debt, and have a great time.

Do you have any money-saving wedding tips? I’d love to hear them!

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Salaries have stagnated. Prices have gone up. What’s the answer?

While I’ve disagreed with much of (Not) Keeping Up With Our Parents so far, I thought Chapter 4, Career and Contribution, was weak.  I believe the author set out to prove that educated professionals have a hard time succeeding financially, unless they are involved in sales or the tech industry. I think she could have made a case, but she picked some bad examples that left me scratching my head.

Case Study #1

Mooney interviewed a pastor about his struggles making it on a $25,000 salary in Idaho.  I don’t doubt that the pastor had trouble surviving on a $25,000 salary, but people in ministry have been underpaid for decades.  This is hardly a new phenomenon.

Don’t get me wrong.  I think pastors should be compensated fairly for their work. They put their hearts and souls into their work, and they are often underpaid.  As much as a church can afford to, I think they should pay their pastors a decent salary.

However, a pastor’s salary is often dependent on the level of giving by the church members.  And that’s always been the case.  It’s no surprise that someone in ministry would have a low salary. And to the pastor’s credit, he didn’t seem bitter at all.  He believed in his career choice.

My husband has worked in Christian radio ministry off and on from the time I met him.  Believe me when I say you don’t go into a ministry-type job expecting to live an upper-middle class life.  So I questioned Mooney’s use of the pastor as an example.

Cast Study #2

Mooney then interviewed a couple who are currently making $180,000 a year, hardly qualifying them for middle class status.  However, the couple had struggled in previous years.  The husband lost his job right before 9/11 and didn’t find a permanent job for four years. Their income went from $150,000 to $50,000 a year.

During that four year period of time, the couple racked up $50,000 in credit card debt.

Blame the economy, big businesses, or the government if you wish, but I’m going to stand by my claim that the easy availability of credit plays a HUGE role in the struggles people have today.

Since I cut up our credit cards, my husband and I have had some tight financial situations, such as when we had to pay an unexpected large income tax bill.  In the past, I have no doubt that we would have considered it an emergency and reached for the credit card, thinking there was no other way out.

However, we didn’t have a credit card, and we had to scrimp and scrape up the money.  But we did it.

I’m not saying that this couple wouldn’t have needed a credit card at all. But $50,000 in credit card debt when you have an income of $50,000 a year makes it seem like they were charging a bit more than the bare necessities.

Case Study #3

This study is actually a group of people.  Mooney mentioned artists and other creative types who have a hard time making it in today’s world.  She mentions that people strive for flexibility in their jobs through freelance writing, yet end up in bondage to their jobs, because they can’t make ends meet, unless they work excessive hours.

She mentions artists struggling to make it in New York, having to pay exorbitant rents while bringing in next to nothing.

But is that really new?  Artists have always struggled.  Some make it big, but many many more don’t.  And though I believe there are now more freelancers and consultants in the workforce today, is it really a new thing that the self-employed have a harder time getting by than their employed counterparts?

The Things I Can Agree On

Expenses have gone up.  That’s for sure.  Mooney didn’t really get into the reasons why expenses have gone up, but again, I think it has a lot to do with the easy availability of credit.  I’m a huge believer of supply and demand.  With the increase in credit, there were more people to demand bigger and better things.

With increased demand, prices can go up.  With more credit available, people think they can afford the increased prices, so they buy…on credit. If people didn’t have credit as an option, nobody would pay high prices, and the prices would fall.

Unfortunately, there are innocent people who get hit with the fall-out from our debt ridden society. Expensive housing prices push rent up, so even those trying to make responsible decisions by waiting to buy until a house is in their budget pay large amounts in rent.  Which, of course, makes it even harder to save for a house.  And so on.  And so on.

The Solution

I can’t say I’m sure what the solution is.  It’s obvious that Mooney thinks government intervention is the solution. She advocates more government funding for the arts to help the starving artist.

I don’t agree.  Unless government spending is brought under control, more government expenses means more taxes taken out of our paychecks, making the average Joe live on even less.

My personal opinion is that the government is pretty inept when it comes to managing people’s lives, and quite frankly I don’t want the government more involved in my life.

Unfortunately I think we’ve been living high on the hog for too long, and that goes for everyone from the individual to the corporation to the government itself.  Debt and credit are not stable foundations for a society, and I think we’re going to be in for a tough time as we reap the consequences of too much spending with too little money.

What do you think?  Prices have gone up.  Salaries haven’t.  What is the fix?  Is there one?  Or are we going to have to ride out the correction until living expenses and salaries are once again in line with each other?

To read the previous parts in the (Not) Keeping Up With Our Parents series, see:

• (Not) Keeping Up With Our Parents
• The Rise and Fall of the Middle Class
• The Cost of a College Education

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Take the time to get to know senior citizens. It’s well worth it.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about relationships between older people and younger people. You see, a women’s group I’m involved in with my church planned a night of hymn singing and testimonies that took place Friday night.

As a younger person, I appreciate hymns, but I’ll admit I like singing more modern worship songs a bit better. Still, in planning the evening, I learned a lot from the older women in the group (I’m the baby of the group).

Friday night when we got together, I was pleasantly surprised to see people of all ages show up. There were children, college students, parents, grandparents, and great grandparents all singing together. It was wonderful. Testimonies were given, words from some of the older hymns were explained, and a great time was had by all.

As I left, I reflected on what a treasure trove of wisdom our senior citizens are. I remember when I was in high school I had to write a term paper on the Great Depression. I interviewed my grandparents, and those interviews made a lasting impression on me. I learned that my grandparents had happy memories of their childhoods, despite not having any money, and that’s obviously impacted how I live my life today.

The same goes for the seniors I know from church. Whether it’s Biblical wisdom, insight on marriage and family, strategies for making a dollar stretch, or pretty much anything else, grandparents and other older people can offer great insight.

My grandparents have all passed away, and I miss them greatly. Take advantage of the time you have with older friends and relatives. Listen to their wisdom. Too often it’s easy for young people to rebel and insist on doing things their own way. It’s a natural part of life to assert independence. But be flexible enough to learn from those who have lived life before you. They know a thing or two.

So today as you go about your day, as you go to church, be sure to express appreciation for those who have walked through life before you. Sit down. Talk a while. You might be pleasantly surprised at how much they understand and how much wisdom you can glean from them.

Photo by Axinar.

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A Couple of Prayer Requests

Pete’s wife is doing better, but she’s still in the hospital and still needs prayers.  Hopefully she’ll be home really soon.  But Pete could still use a few more guest posts to keep Bible Money Matters going while he tends to his wife.  If you’d like to write a post for Pete, please contact me.

Gibble found out this week that his mother has breast cancer.  Fortunately the doctor is optimistic about her prognosis.  Please keep her, the doctors, and Gibble’s family in your prayers. 

Being Frugal News

The Smarty Pig gift card giveaway is still going on.  If you haven’t entered, just subscribe and contact me with the secret phrase the Being Frugal feed.  And just to clarify, anyone who is subscribed to Being Frugal can enter.  You don’t have to be a new subscriber.  But please only one entry per person.

The Being Frugal Roundup

There are a couple of things I need to highlight before I get to the down and dirty, no comments on my part, roundup.

If you’re as disorganized as I am, a home management notebook might be a good thing.  Fortunately, Simple Mom just finished a series on Home Management Notebooks, complete with printable forms!  I’ve read & bookmarked. Now I just have to print the forms and get started!

Also, you all know how I struggle with cooking and eating out.  Well, Kate from A Simple Walk contacted me to tell me about a series she (and two other bloggers) are running on their blogs.  3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 days.  We’re only a few days into May, and I’m already amazed at her organization!  Kate feeds her family of 6 on $300 a month!  I subscribed to her blog, so I wouldn’t miss a moment!  I also subscribed to the other blogs that are a part of this project, FiveJs and The Happy Housewife.  This series is going to be good.  Very good.

Here are my other favorite articles this week:

• How to Dress for an Interview at Cash Money Life
• What is a Recession in the United States? at Gather Little by Little
• Why Debt Stinks:  Life Doesn’t Stop Just So You Can Get Out at I’ve Paid For This Twice Already
• The Cost of Road Rage and Aggressive Driving at Moolanomy
• For Homeschoolers:  4 Tips for Saving Money on Textbooks at Mrs. Micah
• Trouble Selling?  How to Enhance Your Home’s Curb Appeal at My Two Dollars
• lessons from the train at plonkee money
• Upside Down Car Loans at Single Guy Money
• Do You ‘Steal’ Money From Your Spouse? at The Dough Roller
• Avoid These Five Frugal Spending Traps at Prime Time Money
• Our Frugal Homemade Diapers at Frugal Babe (they’re so cute!)
• Three Easy Steps to Frugal Home Canning at My Daily Dollars
• So Sexy So Soon:  The Sexualization of Childhood in Commercial Culture at Telling it Like it Is.  (Not rugality related, but a subject I have strong feelings about.)
• Finally Cindy of Oh My Aching Debts has started a new blog about her foster parenting experiences. It’s My Chosen Children.  Go check it out and say hi!

I’m off to spend the morning at the soccer fields!  Have a wonderful weekend!

SmartyPig Giftcard Giveaway Secret Phrase: "Piggly Wiggly"

Contact me with the secret phrase to enter. One entry per person, please.

Free Money!

• Revolution Money Exchange: $25 just for signing up! No catch! (Like Paypal, but without the fees)