Living On A Dime
How To Save Money And Get Out Of Debt
Susan from Texas asks: “As a single mother of two grown daughters, scratching and clawing my way out of substantial credit card and other debt, please give me some ideas about dealing with daughters’ emergencies, specifically health issues, not life-threatening but urgent never the less.” Tawra Wrote: I was going to work on your …
Whenever my daughter Tawra talks about how to live frugally, she can always count on one type of feedback — from people who say, “You don’t understand what it’s like. You have young children and not teenagers. Teenagers cost more!” Most of the advice and tips that Tawra shares come from me. I have raised …
So many people ask how to teach their kids about money, hoping we can give them a 1-2-3 formula to use that will help their child become a wise caretaker of his money and maybe even a future Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey. Many parents ask this question because they are terrified that their children …
Wouldn’t Tithing Less Leave More Room In Your Budget? Abdeli asks: I noticed that you give a sizeable amount in tithes. I am a Christian myself and give regularly but I can’t help but worry that perhaps giving less to the church might make your budget more lenient, say for emergencies and the such. I …
Lou from north Carolina asks: Hi. I am recently living on my own with my two children, 15 & 12. I was married for 23 years and totally blown away when my husband asked for a separation. It was initiated by money problems. I made a big mistake by agreeing to file bankruptcy so my …
Mike from Manitoba, Canada asks: “I have been trying to live more simply, and would like to become debt free so that I will be more free to make changes that reflect my new goals in my life. Last year I bought a new car. At the time I was already thinking about maybe giving …
When to Buy New or Name Brand Goods In all my years living frugally, I have found that some things are worth buying new. Even though I often recommend shopping at garage sales and thrift stores, there are times when you don’t really save anything buying an item used or cutting back on something. I …
Paying Cash For A Car? Elaine From Massachusetts asks: “Given the fact that more people are traveling further for better paying jobs — How does your concept of purchasing a car cash apply? I travel a total of 100 miles a day round trip for work. Travel time is about 1 hour 15 minutes peak …
Don’t Buy In!, Part 3 Read part 1 here and part 2 here. So What’s the point, you ask? What can I do about it? Don’t buy in! Don’t listen. Reduce your exposure to a runaway stream of information. Don’t just rock along in auto pilot. Think about what you’re doing. Any information going …
Don’t Buy In! (Part 2) (Read part one here.) TV ads are, as a whole louder than ever, often using fast paced tense music to make you feel like there is an urgent reason you need to watch this commercial. Even though there are laws designed to prevent television broadcasters from playing commercials louder than …
Don’t Buy In! How To Avoid The Trap! Did you know you need a new cell phone? Did you know your car is trash? Did you know you’re not pretty enough, you’re overweight, you wear outdated clothes, you need to eat healthier and you need two large pizzas? If you didn’t know that, brace yourself …
Is Frugal Living Too Time Consuming? When people ask me about getting out of debt, they often ask “Doesn’t frugal living take quite a bit more time than not living frugally?” Of course, doing work yourself does mean you spend more time doing certain things, but frugal living also means that you will spend a …
