It's been a while......

Well I think we can call it a summer.....we have gone camping, gone to the beach, cooked out on the grill a lot and are now back in school.  Funny, there is more a sense of a new year at the end of summer (Labor Day) then there is on January 1st.

From a frugality perspective, I guess you could sum up daily living by just practicing mindful spending everywhere you go and just about everything you buy.  For us, the savings have been continous.

Bought a car, traded in the motorcycle.  The car I bought is a gas sipper, namely due to the length of our commute each day.  Why get a vehicle you are going to wear out at 17 mpg, while you can do it at 28 mpg?

We are in the process of cleaning out the house, in anticipation of putting it on the market next June.  Simpler house, means simpler things.

We will tell you, going through things you haven't touched in years, really bodes the question, do we really need this?  We have gone through round one, next is round two.

We have been crazy on craigslist as I am moving some bicycles along.  We hope to get a tandem to start out daily riding and possible some overnights in the area....we shall see what the market bears.  It looks right now, there is a wide choice at the $150 level....if only I get them at the $100 level.  We shall see.....

Happy trails and start to look for those Christmas bargains......Black Friday is just around the corner.

"Are you ready for the summer?"

Yes....are you ready for the summer?  Great movie, one of our top ten of all time to watch.  Reason why I direct your attention to it? 

The Frugalmeisters, well three of them, have bartered our way to summer camp for three weeks.  Frau Frugal will be on a team of registered nurses at camp, Kleinen Frugal will be just having a ball and Herr Frugalmeister will be arbeit just about anywhere at camp.  In exchange for our services, the camp has agreed to pay for our travel to the great state of New York and waive the campers fee which was significant.

We leave in a couple of weeks and have pretty much the month of July to enjoy in the Hudson Valley.  Plenty of pictures to post when we return.

The blog postings have been silent lately as we are working hard to achieve a few goals:
1)  We have found a potential small scale farm location and it currently in foreclosure, bankruptcy, etc....we are doing what we can to see if we can pick it up at auction and then put our house on the market.
2)  Our house is currently the house of never ending problems....pool sweeper, won't sweep, leak in the sprinkler system, finish painting, flooring and a pesky stair step crack has opened on the side of the garage.  We don't know if it is part of a sinkhole or decaying tree roots from a large maple taken out several years ago.  Can't report it to the insurance company as it is now hurricane season.  More investigation to follow.

Anyway, we have found a piece of eden, we are working to secure it as ours and then another step in the right direction of providing for ourselves and only ourselves.

So, I think we are 'ready for the summer', off to see Morty and the gang at camp and more fun on the future.  Thanks for checking in.

Haiku's

Creating Haiku's are something that is fun, easy and will convey a 'thought of the day' to those around you.

Here are a couple from this past week that were in Frau Frugal's lunchbox:

"Hey Spaz where are you?
Exploring his own brave world.
Welcome Home, again"

Somebody left the gate open or it was opened by neighborhood kids and Spaz got to wander around the neighborhood for a couple of hours.  We found him, all dry and safe.  This one is pretty self explanatory.

"Wake up sleepy head
Drifting dreams and pleasant thoughts
Deep REM so restful"

Try one at home and share!

The Family Fleet

The Frugal household has reduced the fleet.  We are down to basically a single vehicle and have been one for over a month.  Herr Frugal still has the fachhandler, but we as a family rely on a single vehicle.

We are saving on gas, on insurance and to some degree, car maintenance.  We may be taking a toll on the remaining vehicle, but with regular service, we should be just fine.  In fact, (knock on wood), we just passed 185,000 miles!  Pushing for 250K!

In doing some research for this post, I discovered some interesting information:

• about 35% of all households own one vehicle, these households have an income of over $250,000 or between $25,000 and $35,000.
• the average household has 2.28 vehicles
• the most common combination of vehicles are a full size pick-up and a mid-size sedan
• South Dakota has the highest % of households in the U.S. that has 5+ vehicles

So, consider the changes you may be able to make, not withstanding the decrease in CO2 emissions.  (I think I saw automobiles were responsible for 30% of the CO2 emissions)

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"

February tidings! The above is a depression era slogan and appears to be still relevant and pertinent to the times.

We Frugals are approaching just about every financial decision in our lives with the slogan above. By doing so, we have begun to find that ever elusive disposable income to enjoy the down time of a job well done.

The lastest adventure......The Great Urban Race, here in the Tampa Bay area. It was not cheap, but the family time we will have chasing the clues, working as a team and loving every minute of a mini 'Amazing Race' will be well worth the entry fee.

Here is a link to the race. Check to see if one is near you in 2010!

http://www.greaturbanrace.com/

After the race, we will give you the lowdown and our results. We are racing as Team WhatNext. Designer Tshirts and all!

In addition, we have begun to work on a new project. WhatNextASD.com. It will be an information portal for parents with kids on the Autism spectrum. We have purchased the domain and will begin to build the website and probably add another blog through Blogger. Stay tuned!

Happy New Year!

It's 2010! Twenty-ten or Two Thousand and Ten. How you say it does not matter but with the turning of the Roman Calendar, a new year is upon us. A new beginning and opportunity to improve ourselves.

Reflecting back on 2009 Frugality, we have found ourselves with a bit more $ in the bank, less stress at home and continued focus on ourselves, the family.

Some saving tips that actually became a reality are:

• Making our lunches everyday, contributed to the bottom line. We made leftovers, or put together some very healthy lunches. A veggie burger, a side of frozen veggies, a yogurt and some fruit. It was also an opportunity to share a small note to Mrs. Frugal.
• Dropping our spare change into a bucket worked as well. Last year we had over $90 to enjoy ourselves, this year's bucket will be cashed in shortly.
• Using coupons and shopping smartly instead of just going to the store to pick up what we need. By using the coupons and buy one/get one, we were able to just get the basics (milk, bread, etc) and eat out of the freezer or out of the pantry on multiple weeks. For the family of five, we are able to average about $130 a week. This includes our lunch meals as well!
• Paying cash/debit for just about everything. This made our budgeting come to reality and think about purchases
• Take a vacation....it does everyone good

Here are Herr Frugal's resolutions for 2010

1. Read 12 books (first one is underway, "Guide to Winemaking")
2. Write 12 letters
3. Build a vegetable garden instead of just a few plants to supplement
4. Walk the dogs or whichever one wants to go for a walk

Please leave a comment about your resolutions and frugality realizations. It's time to walk the dog....literally Herr Professor!