Recession-Fabulous

Sewing Revisted, Or, Not Your Mother's Home Ec Class

2011-03-31T09:25:00.002-05:00

For many of us, sewing brings up memories of poorly crafted aprons made in high school to the insane specifications of a slightly-evil, slightly-crazy home ec teacher. But, in today's economic climate (if you have expensive tastes), sewing can be the way to go. I'll grant, you can probably shop end-of-season sales or discount stores and dress cheaply enough that sewing does not make economic

Dreams and Compromises

2011-02-22T11:15:00.004-06:00

Money is always tight around my house. My husband and I are both teachers, and we have to watch our money. Our children, however, are less enthusiastic about our budgeting efforts. Take, for example, our eight year old, Olivia. She is an outdoorsy kind of girl who had rather run a 5K than read a book. (Not even kidding here-- I think she gets it from my husband.) Reading is something that

Dressing Up

2009-10-04T11:21:00.007-05:00

I hear parents talking about how expensive school dances are. The dress, the hair, the shoes, etc.The year I spent the most on my daughter's dress for her high school's homecoming dance was the year that she was most disappointed in how she looked. The first year, she was a freshmen, therefore not technically eligible to go the dance, except as someone's date. So we did not have a lot of advance

Recession Fabulous Giveaway!

2009-09-09T14:45:00.002-05:00

So what’s better than free? Not much! Which is why I’m introducing you all to Mary Beth Hunt, aka the Everyday Cheapskate, by giving away her hardcover book, The Everyday Cheapskate Greatest Tips, which is chock FULL of ideas for smarter spending and living. Post a comment between now and September 25 right here on Recession Fabulous and you’ll be entered in the drawing.I'm also letting you

Good Eating in Hard Times

2009-08-18T22:08:00.007-05:00

Let's get something straight before we start: I don't like to cook. As home chores go, I prefer laundry. But, with a husband and three kids, we can't afford to eat out all the time, either, even at "family" restaurants, like Dixie Cafe.I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Dixie Cafe, anyway. Eating there kind of reminds me of eating at my granny's house. On the other hand, I'm pretty

Pound that Bride

2009-08-15T08:30:00.008-05:00

Getting married is so expensive. It's a wonder anyone can get hitched at all, especially in these lean times. Not that you'd know it watching "reality" television - ever clicked past Bridezilla? There's a perfect example of folks with too little to spend trying too hard to spend it anyway. What a train wreck. No wonder those poor women are 'zillas.I say place the emphasis on getting a house and

Back-to-School Savvy

2009-08-09T14:35:00.004-05:00

You don't have to be a kid to benefit from the dramatic loss leaders that populate most back-to-school sales. I take advantage of them every year to stock up on my own office supplies. Fine line colored markers, for example, are always handy to have around and you can't beat a buck or so for a set of Crayola's that are normally $2-3 the rest of the year. Here are some other tips on getting the

Wondering when it's time to say good-bye.

2009-08-04T11:21:00.003-05:00

Last week, one of my favorite bracelets broke as I was putting together the perfect look. I gathered its many parts from all over the floor and left them in a small, discrete pile atop my dresser, where they've been sitting ever since. Do I throw them out, or do I try and repair/restring the bracelet? If the bracelet is made of pearls and handed down from your great-grandmother, then the answer

The Dry Cleaner's Daughter: "Hang It Up!"

2009-07-17T17:11:00.009-05:00

I practically grew up in the household of my mother’s mother—a strong-willed “Arky” who had made it through the murder of her first husband (lesson: don’t play around with the bootlegger’s wife), the Great Depression, and WWII as a Rosie the Riveter, whose duty on the assembly line was to load bombs with explosive material. When I stayed at her house, I had several “chores”: hoe the garden,

A Cardboard Box and a Free Afternoon

2009-05-21T08:10:00.006-05:00

When I was young there was nothing so fun as a whole afternoon and a fresh cardboard box. It still takes very little to keep me entertained. I get this from my mother, who once made an entire play-kitchen for me from a series of found boxes and a little poster paint. Move over, Little Tikes.Everyone has the Christmas or birthday story involving a Very Expensive Present of some sort and the child

Classroom-Fabulous

2009-03-29T08:30:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite Recession stories this week concerns a high school history teacher in Idaho who's selling advertising space on tests. This isn't for personal gain, folks, he's just struck a deal with a local pizza delivery place that's willing to provide copy paper for the classroom - as long as there's a promotional coupon at the bottom of each page. Is this appalling? I don't think so, and

It Must Be Tuesday. She's Wearing that Gray Skirt.

2009-03-27T10:52:00.011-05:00

I remember moving out on my own a few (cough) years ago and my father sitting down with me to teach me monthly budgeting. His list involved scribbling down all the necessities to stay alive and a lot of math. Bless his heart, he meant well. I was young, though, and paid almost no attention until he wrote down "clothing."The only math I ever truly learned was how to make all those other pesky

Take a Vacation from the News

2009-03-25T22:18:00.008-05:00

Some of this is residual forward-motion from the two-year, 24/7 coverage of the greatest reality show ever: the 2008 Election. We've all been free-falling into our televisions ever since to catch a glimpse here and there of just How Dire Things Are. The thing is, there are scads of talking heads out there giving play-by-play and armchair quarterbacking the state of the Union. Keep in mind that

How to Eat Recession-Fabulous

2009-03-24T09:22:00.002-05:00

Down here in Arkansas we've been biting the bullet for a few years, so this recession is old news to most of us. "AIG" is how most of us pronounce "egg," and no one around here knows anyone who brings home a bonus worth mentioning. There used to be free turkeys at Christmas, but no one has seen those since the late 90s.When the hiring and salary freezes started about two years ago, most folks

Welcome to the Recession

2009-03-23T14:50:00.003-05:00

Well, here we are smack-dab in the middle of a financial crisis. While I'm sure it took some folks by surprise, a lot of saw this coming some time ago. Remember last summer when gas was over $5.00 a gallon? The groceries went up and they never came back down. Two years ago our local school system said they'd take a hiring break for a bit, and then for good measure they decided to let a few people