January/February 2008 Newsletter
Happy New Year from Frugal Families!
IFirst, please forgive the belated newsletter. A plethora of germs invaded our
home right after the start of the year and I was still recovering from
tendonitis AND a partially torn ligament in my thumb which made typing a painful
chore. Thankfully, the germs have moved out and the injuries are healing.
I want to welcome all of you who signed up for our newsletter and are receiving
it for the first time thanks to the Redbook article. We love having you with us!
So many of us think of the start of the new year as a time to start over. Alot
of people start over with the finances. It's probably THE most asked question I
get. "Where do I start on my frugal journey?" The answer is always the same. You
can't save money if you don't know where it's going. You need to take the time
to track every penny coming in and going out of your home. It's only once you
know how much you spend and on what, that you can start to slash expenses and
save money. A new member of the forums did this and she and her husband figured
out that they spent alot of money on going out to dinner. The simple step of
eliminating meals out saved them $250 in a mere two weeks! If you haven't done
it, then print up our free budgeting and expense tracking sheets and get
started:
http://www.frugal-families.com/printables/printables.htm
As this comes to you, the Senate is still debating the details of an economic
stimulus package. The goal of the package is to put money in your hands that you
can spend and hopefully, stimulate the economy. I polled the forum members on
what they would do with their windfall (IF it arrives). Many have decided to
start an emergency fund and/or pay down or payoff credit cards. If you had an
emergency fund, you wouldn't need to reach for a credit card when an emergency
came up. If you didn't have credit card payments you'd have all those minimum
payments to put into a savings account (to pay CASH next time the urge to buy
came over you). Have you given serious thought to what you would do IF that
check arrives?
The forums are now hopping with the new challenges of the year. Challenges help
make frugality fun. January's pantry challenge asked you to organize and
inventory your pantry. It costs money if you can't find ingredients you THOUGHT
you had but couldn't find. The thrifty household challenge was to create a
budget if you didn't have one. As always, forum members cheer each other on and
encourage one another to meet challenge goals and save money! Each month we
average 6-8 new challenges. I hope you consider joining us!
I can't believe Valentine's Day is almost here. Romance doesn't have to be
expensive. We've got some great articles to help you find inexpensive way to woo
the one you love.
http://www.frugal-families.com/Articles/cheap-love.htm
http://www.frugal-families.com/Articles/Valentine-gifts-on-budget.htm
Here's a wonderful article on Valentine's fun with your kids:
http://www.frugal-families.com/Articles/family-Valentine-fun.htm
I wanted to put you onto a great deal my friend and fellow website owner,
Adriana, has pulled together exclusively for recipients of our newsletter.
Adriana owns two wonderful sites: www.busy-moms-online.com AND
www.babys-first-year.com
She has bundled three great e-books on organizing your home, creative ways to
pay off holiday debt and frugal living for moms (normally costing almost $30)
for only $5!!! I invite you to take a peak at the deal she's offering:
http://www.busy-moms-online.com/resources/frugal-families-special.html
I wanted to try something new for this year's newsletters. I wanted to invite
you to send me your questions related to frugality and budgeting. If you have
specific topics or ideas you'd like covered in a newsletter, please send me
those, too. I want to make sure our newsletters are providing you with
information that you want and need. E-mail me at paqmom@frugal-families.com
As always, if you decide you no longer want to receive our newsletter, PLEASE
return this to me and I will remove you from our list.
Thanks for being part of our frugal family! I look forward to hearing your
questions and ideas for future publications.
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