A Frugal Living Blog by a Frugal Guy

Your Toast Is Toast

2009-05-01T23:38:00.004-04:00

Just a quick tidbit for the blog.If you happen to get an order of garlic toast, sometimes known as garlic bread, and you leave it lying around overnight to dry out what would you do?Wait, don't throw it out!As long as it still has some moisture, or if you put it back in the paper bag it often comes in and add a few drops of water, you can nuke it back to life.Talk about saving bread...

Blog Directory Updates

2009-04-11T09:41:00.003-04:00

It has been quite a while since I've mentioned Grokodile. This is the blog directory that I've been slowly working on over the last couple of years.Anyway, since I have recently started to participate on Twitter I've found that it can be very useful for discovering useful information. For example, if you follow TechCrunch you'll be kept up to date on what is happening the tech community.I've

Frugality vs Utility

2009-04-04T13:05:00.022-04:00

While a lot of us would agree that frugality is good, and a lot of people need to be frugal during periods of economic risk, there are still good reasons to spend a little bit more than you absolutely have to.I'm talking about utility. What is the value of the item that you purchase? What is it going to contribute to your lifestyle?Here are some examples to consider:Purchase AlternativesTunaNo

Let Them Eat Cake

2009-02-21T11:50:00.009-05:00

Well, the stimulus package has passed, hasn't it? There hasn't been a day that has gone by without all kinds of criticism from every corner.I think the only way to stop the criticism is to declare a war on the economy. This way, whatever level of spending is attained can be justified. After all, anything goes in a time of war. We've been hearing that mantra for nearly a decade so I doubt

Economic Middle Ground?

2009-02-08T13:20:00.007-05:00

The news media was in a quandary last week. Is it a stimulus package or is it wasteful spending? If you listen to all the talking heads you'll end up in a panic in no time.Look, take a step back and ask yourself some questions:1) Is the global economy rapidly shrinking due to a collapse in the credit system?2) Are millions of people losing their jobs?3) Is the proposed spending designed to

Earnings Review: Infolinks

2009-02-04T12:42:00.013-05:00

Searching for ways to earn a little income from your blog? Well, I believe I've found a way to earn revenues without violating your editorial standards. For example, I don't know about you, but I've decided I won't do any type of paid posting or paid review junk.The search for respectable revenue hasn't been easy. For example, here is what happened when I tried AdBrite.Are you wondering why

College Costs

2009-01-17T16:24:00.007-05:00

This post is a bit of a departure from my normal fare. It's not really a review, as I don't even know anyone using this service, and it is a commercial program.To make a long story short, I'm intrigued about the Upromise* program. From reading their web site it looks like they encourage students to enroll in their program, for free, to earn money for college by using a points style card when

Job Loss And Broken Dreams

2008-12-07T09:20:00.007-05:00

I see a lot more people arriving at my blog because they are searching for things such as extreme frugality. Having gone through an extended period of underemployment it breaks my heart.Wait, don't worry, this isn't a pity party!What I do feel is important is getting through to people that look down on those that suffer through employment and economic issues. You see, when you get a taste of

A View On The Collapse

2008-11-15T09:36:00.007-05:00

I've heard a lot of politically motivated talk about the global financial crisis. There are some who'd like to place all the blame at the feet of a couple of government programs.However, I'd like to highlight one of the factors that I consider important. It tangentially deals with the issue of regulation.The reason for our crisis can be put down to one simple word. Greed!It was reckless greed

Economic Turmoil

2008-10-23T14:56:00.014-04:00

Although nobody has ever cited an actual source it has come to be understood that there is an ancient curse that involves living during interesting times. Well, these are certainly interesting times.So, what should we do now that there seems to be an impending economic storm?My first suggestion is that you review the Financial Risk Advisory System. Look at stages that are worse than where you

Fighting Debt: Turning The Corner

2008-08-29T23:35:00.004-04:00

The battle against debt is finally starting to happen. It had been months and months since I became fully employed and the sheer inertia of mandatory and deferred expenses kept me from doing anything that felt like forward progress.Now, finally, progress. Progress is fantastic. It's motivating. With respect to my last post, the logjam is finally broken!The result of all this monumental

Whittling Away at the Backlog

2008-08-02T12:20:00.012-04:00

Wow, sometimes it's not easy to simply turn a corner and actually end up going in a new direction.Things like vacations and visitors, a wedding, losses in the family as well as direct financial issues that have become more pressing, due to years of neglect, all get in the way of that new direction. So, like the title suggests, progress is slow.However, while the debt goal isn't moving quickly,

Time To Get Debt Free

2008-06-07T11:43:00.009-04:00

When you think about becoming debt free do these ideas come to mind? Insurmountable, herculean, titanic, hopeless, or perhaps even impossible?These are some of the thoughts that can stand in the way of eliminating debt. Other concepts, perhaps such as deprivation, are also wandering around threatening to make an appearance.How on earth can mere mortals tackle problems of this scope?If you have

Back From The Brink

2008-04-12T11:23:00.005-04:00

Up from the depths, 30 stories high, breathing fire, his head in the clouds. Godzilla, Godzilla, Godzilla!Okay, that may be a slight over dramatization, maybe, but I'm feeling pretty good. It's nice to have a budget and, simultaneously, an income that supports it. Funny how that works, isn't it?Though I was recently feeling overwhelmed with the concept of actually spending money, I think I'm

Frugal Identity Crisis

2008-03-28T20:48:00.005-04:00

This may sound hard to believe, but after dealing with some very frugal circumstances I'm now finding myself pondering what should be simple decisions.For example, I'm thinking I might like a cut of beef other than "ground beef" once in a while. Instantly, I question this thought. Am I on the road to throwing away money just because I actually have a few dollars for a change? Should I just

AdBrite Review: Negative

2008-03-08T15:55:00.007-05:00

In my ongoing effort to find a way to monetize my blog I recently signed up for AdBrite.It seemed like a great idea. I could manually approve any offered advertising and avoid low quality material. When there were no advertisers available my Adsense would be shown by default. Unfortunately, the only advertising that AdBrite could offer was very low quality run of network material.Eventually, I

Informative Post Review

2008-02-21T19:58:00.008-05:00

Recently, before I became fully employed, I had a little bit more time on my hands than I do now.So, in an effort to earn a little bit of income in my spare time I signed up with Informative Post (sign up). I only wrote one or two articles for them, but they accepted my work and paid me for it via PayPal.At the current time they are expanding (especially since they've just introduced a new

Incentive Credit Rates Making Sense

2008-02-20T20:51:00.005-05:00

I find it hard to believe but I'm finally looking at a situation in which it makes sense to take advantage of temporarily low credit card rates.To give you a bit of background, I've been forced to quietly carry some credit card debt for years now. Luckily, I do have a low interest credit card, but it's still a noticeable drain on my finances. Anyway, as my last post suggests, I've been offered

Stealth Living

2008-02-16T19:05:00.005-05:00

I hope this will be the last in a series of posts dealing with how to get by during tough times. You see, while I have been searching for a decent job lately, I believe I've finally found one.Anyway, while I've been away from home looking for work, I've had to live very cheaply indeed. See my previous post about "alert status red" for more information. Once again, I'm happy to give you tried

It's Winter, Cook More Rice!

2008-01-20T09:30:00.001-05:00

Recently, I noticed an unexpected bonus while using my #2 kitchen appliance.As everyone knows, winter is a time that generally involves dryness. Dry air. Dry skin. Dry lips. Dry humor. See, it's dryness all around. Heck, kitchen appliance #1 is even a bread dryer.So, you guessed it, the rice cooker does double duty as a steam generator. While it's cooking rice you'll see a thin stream of

Revenue Sharing: A New Model

2008-01-12T20:47:00.000-05:00

This doesn't have much to do with frugality, but it's a potentially significant event that I thought I'd share...After much thought about how to grow the Grokodile blog directory, it finally occurred to me that people need more incentive to link to it. Then, after a lot more thought, it struck me. Why not just share revenues?For those of you that don't know, revenue sharing is pretty common.

Alert Status Red

2008-01-08T15:46:00.000-05:00

Well, though it's a line from a song, it also fits my status level according to the recent Financial Risk Advisory System post.Not long ago, thanks to a check which surprised me by bouncing when I deposited it, my cash balance was a whopping $24. Woohoo! Merry Christmas Frugal Guy! Don't spend it all in one place buddy.Thankfully, the check was replaced and life goes on. Anyway, this all came

Financial Risk Advisory System

2008-01-03T10:33:00.000-05:00

In cooperation with the Department of Home and Security, and with my tongue planted firmly in cheek, I present the Financial Risk Advisory System. However, as you will surely notice, great effort has been taken to ensure that this advisory system provides concrete guidelines and practical advice which should prove useful.Please note that the following threat assessment levels are based upon

Welcome: A Blog Overview for 2008

2007-12-31T00:05:00.000-05:00

Hi. Since I've been blogging for quite a while now I thought I'd create a resource page for new visitors...First, I'm not even going to try to define frugality. It seems to mean different things to different people. Perhaps this is based on whether they are being frugal by necessity or frugal by choice. I'm betting that there are many shades of gray between the two though.Fun PostsPerhaps the

Frugal Resolutions 2008

2007-12-29T16:57:00.001-05:00

It's time to look at the past year and figure out how we might be able to do better with our choices and our lives. It's not always a fun process, but then, that's probably a signal that it is something worth doing.At the moment I have two resolutions. Well, I have at least steeled my resolve and come to accept that they are things I must do:Rejoin the rat race.Improve my dietary