Frugal Musings...

I have been waiting for the carpenter to finish working on the new floor joists so I can insulate the floor. As usual I try to do what I can so that the work is still something I am involved in. I managed to pack the insulation between the floor joists this weekend. He will be finishing things and closing up the floor. I had asked him to put a layer of felt between the plywood layers in the floor for me. (old-fashioned but still effective) The floor feels so much better. It does not slant down or bounce anymore! The floor is now level and securely supported. What an improvement!

Anyway, I will need to put down some new floor covering before I move my bedroom back in there for the winter. It has always been a cozy bedroom; I particularly like laying in bed and watching the birds when they come to the feeders. In the winter when the snow blankets the back yard it is lovely to watch those bluejays as they quabble over the peanuts. The back room needs some further work to finish the floor on the bathroom side of things. When that part of the floor is level and insulated, a part of the far wall needs replaced and the whole thing will be closed up. I have recycled vinyl siding that will cover the back of the house and the exterior wall of the bathroom. It is lovely siding, too! In fact, most of the joists that were replaced (all but one) were also recycled from a deconstruction nearby. Always one for the recycling aspect of things, I was very pleased to find the materials so close at hand. There were also concrete blocks and 2 x 4s so it was well worth the effort. Keeping costs down is very important in my financial life as it is for so many people.

I was watching television early on Saturday morning. I believe it was Saturday; there was an early morning news story about a family that was part of a frugal living challenge. Apparently, they were working with a frugal living counselor/consultant of sorts. That family managed to save $1000 a month by making some changes in their lifestyle. Although I cannot remember all the things that they employed during the 30 days that they were following the counselor's advice, here are some of the things I do remember:

1. They stopped going to the mall so they would not make impulsive shopping choices.
2. They stopped eating out.
3. Since they stopped going to the mall and eating out they were using the family vehicle less and therefore saving money spent on gas.
4. They shopped around for a better cell phone plan and saved $140 a month when they changed plans.
5. They shopped around and changed their insurance plans (making a good savings while not decreasing their coverage).
   

Well, when I watched that show I was smiling to myself. You see that family saved more tht month than I live on in the real world. I wondered how much their total monthly income would be. They live way about the average family's standard of living. How realistic is a story like that?

I couldn't help but chuckle when the story was over as I browned ground beef to make spaghetti sauce, chili, and tacos for the week. I wondered just how many other people living simply in small town America saw that program. Wonder if that family shops in the marked-down bin at their local supermarket? Would they ever have the need to go to a free supper at a church? I have more questions...

Sign me, Living Simply in Small Town America, M (Pass the salt and pepper, please)

P. S. Oh, by the way, I will google the story about this family saving money and post more of the particulars just for the sake of knowing more about the wonderful ideas they were using to become more frugal. Honest.

Here it is, http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=5890529&page=1