Leah Ingram of Suddenly Frugal shares with me a little of her journey becoming a published frugalista:
We started living frugally in 2007 after we paid off all of our home equity debt and I swore that we would never dig such a big financial hole for ourselves again. I started by looking at everyday expenses (like coffee, premium cable channels) and started slicing and dicing where I could. At the same time I made a pact that we would stop eating out as a regular thing and instead make it a special thing. In the process, I began cooking at home every night of the week. While this resulted in my grocery bill going up ever so slightly (because I was buying more food for cooking at home than we were doing before), our overall expenses went down.
In your frugal blogging, where do you see the most comments or interest in a particular topic?
By far the most popular blog post in the past three years has been the one I wrote on how to make your own laundry detergent. Who knew so many people wanted to save so much money on laundry? Since then some of the most popular posts have been my recent “Cooking Without a Kitchen” series, in which I chronicle how I’m managing to cook dinner (mostly) every night, even though we dismantled our kitchen three months ago as part of a home renovation. People’s favorite recipe is my Chicken Stir Fry in the Crock-Pot.
Where do you splurge when you get a chance?
When I splurge, which is rare, I’ll usually do it for clothing that is well-made and is on sale and I can stock up. Case in point: I got a $50 Gap gift card for my birthday in December, but I finally got around to using it last week when I discovered that Gap had my favorite long-sleeved t-shirts on sale. I LIVE in those all winter long, so I spent the entire gift card on those shirts, and now I’m set for the rest of this winter and next winter, too.
What do you find easiest to save money on?
I save money by not putting myself in a situation where I’m tempted to spend money. I don’t stop in the local coffee shop because then I’ll get a coffee and snack and, poof, $5 will be gone. I don’t go to the mall or clothing stores when I’m bored because then I’m tempted to spend and I usually do. I don’t go to the supermarket when I’m hungry or with my kids, because both usually lead to overspending. I do have shopping withdrawal from time to time, but mostly if I can remove myself from the situations where I would previously spend too much, I’m good. So I save money by not allow myself to fall into a situation where I’m going to spend money.
Tell us about your new book: (i.e. what topics you cover, why you wrote the book, etc.)
My new book Suddenly Frugal: How to Live Happier and Healthier for Less (Adams Media, 2010) grew out of my Suddenly Frugal blog, which I started in May 2007. The book covers many of the same topics I’ve covered on the blog but a lot of the information is exclusive to the book. And all of the information is much more extensive than what I could get into a blog posting (which I try to keep under 500 words). A book chapter is WAY longer than that. I cover all the facets of daily living, with a frugal spin, from cooking at home to saving on laundry to getting through the holidays without going into debt. I’ve heard from people who’ve read the book and that within the first chapter, they can already figure out the changes they need to implement in their lives to start saving money—and they do go ahead and make those changes. Others have told me that they love my “voice” in the book because they feel like I’m talking to them in person. That’s a huge compliment. The book is now available online. Visit my blog (http://www.suddenlyfrugal.com) and sign up for a subscription to receive frugal tips in your mailbox at least five times a week.
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