Meet a Frugal Girl Reader | J D
JD was one of the first people I emailed an interview request to, back in January. I never heard back, so I assumed she didn't want to participate. But as it turns out, she never got my email!
So, I'm glad I reached out to double-check because more than one of you has asked for a JD interview.
1. Tell us a little about yourself
I'm a woman who just recently turned 65; my husband recently turned 68 and we'll be married 42 years next month.
We have two daughters, ages 38 and 35, a son-in-law and a soon-to-be son-in-law, plus five granddaughters and one grandson, ages 15 years to 11 months.
My husband is a Florida native and I'm not, but I've lived in Florida since 1977. We live in a rural area, just outside of a very small town's city limits.
My husband worked hard for many years, but his health started failing, so he took early retirement. He is a Type 1 diabetic.
I still work full time, the last four years as an office manager for an up-and-coming small engineering firm in the state capital, Tallahassee.
I commute about 55 miles each way to work. Moving closer to my work is not an option for us at this time, mostly because of the much higher real estate prices and taxes in Tallahassee.
We live in a house on a little over an acre of land with our current rescue dog and the cat that was "dumped" in our yard over a decade ago, plus a lot of goldfish.
My husband and I were both born later in our parents' marriages and our parents were teens to young adults during the Depression.
Our parents had very different reactions to living through that period. He was raised to spend, I was raised to pinch pennies. We never discussed money before we got married, and it was hard to work together on finances, for far too long.
About me personally:
- I have always had pets
- I love old things and historic places
- I like living in the country, baking and reading as well as writing
- I am grateful for my faith and my church family.
- I love being a Nana!
2. How long have you been reading The Frugal Girl?
I don't remember when I started reading, but I'd guess six or so years ago.
3. How did you get interested in saving money?
I've always been interested in saving money, but I was really not skilled at it and had no prioritized goals.
I finally started reading the "Tightwad Gazette" newsletter and found techniques and a sense of focused purpose after that.
4. What's the "why" behind your money-saving efforts?
We lived on a fairly low income for quite a few years, and my husband's medical expenses didn't help, so it was basically survival mode.
Once he started earning a better salary, we had a backlog of things we had been putting off for years, so I continued to be frugal so we could get the best use of our money without wasting it.
When he had to quit working, the need to be frugal, not just the desire, appeared again, and I work with an eye to keeping us going well, but also to put aside as much as I can for retirement.
5. What's your best frugal win?
Two things come to mind right away: one was purchasing the Florida pre-paid tuition plan for our kids when they were very young.
The other was when we finally built our home, we built it small-ish. It's under 1600 s.f. and is fast to clean, has lower taxes and insurance premiums, and we didn't have to downsize when the kids left.
Another win that is not as big, but it's important to me: I've focused on trying to make our landscape more edible.
We have several fruit trees, grapevines, berry bushes, olive trees, and perennial herbs like rosemary growing in our yard.
6. What's a dumb money mistake you've made?
We made so many!
I'd say that buying a mobile home was about the biggest. Our town has little in the way of rental units, and when we married, inflation and interest rates were high, and houses were hard to get into, so we ended up in a mobile home.
Mobile homes in Florida have high insurance costs, and of course, they depreciate. They aren't the best quality, so we always had things to repair.
We had no real credit history, so our interest rate was 17%! We should have kept looking for a rental.
7. What's one thing you splurge on?
Food. I buy organic almost exclusively, and local, pastured, family farm raised as often as I can.
I have two autoimmune diseases and my husband is diabetic so I've been working to feed us clean, anti-inflammatory food as much as I can. My doctor is really on board with that effort, too.
Plus, I come from a farming background. Small family farmers have a hard way to go, and I like to support them.
8. What's one thing you aren't remotely tempted to splurge on?
A fancy new car. I'm all for dependability and safety, but driving a fancy new car doesn't interest me at all.
9. If $1000 was dropped into your lap today, what would you do with it?
Right now, I would probably use it for some dental work my husband is going to need. If that wasn't the case, I'd probably set it aside for a freezer replacement. Our current freezer is at least 25 years old.
10. Share a frugal tip with other Frugal Girl readers
Plan ahead.
This isn't news to most here, but it's still easy to let slip sometimes. Put something in the freezer or on the shelf for days when you just can't face cooking, or truly have no time.
Set aside money however you can for expenses that you know will happen at some point - new tires, new glasses, Christmas gifts, a dying stove.
Plan what you will eat (I hate doing this, but I do it), and plan your time. Being stretched too thin gets expensive in many ways.
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JD, thank you so much for participating in this series! It was lovely to learn more about you.
And I hear you on the menu planning; I hate the process, but I love the results.
Hi JD! Hooray for edible landscaping! Is it warm enough to grow citrus where you are? That's one thing I really, really wish I could grow outside here. I would love to have overwhelming harvests of graprefruit.
Do you have a greenhouse? Citrus grows well potted and indoors colder climates. You could bring your pot outside in the summer months. Although humidity could be a challenge, I believe the Prudent Homemaker has had luck growing lemons in Las Vegas. It might be fun to try.
We get some cold winter days so citrus can be tricky here. Most stick to things that can handle a bit of colder weather. My daughter has a red grapefruit tree, while I have a Meyer lemon and a Satsuma mandarin, and I know a couple of people who have tangerine trees. We still have to watch out for very cold nights. I agree with Bee that potted citrus can be successful in a number of places, since they can be brought inside in cold weather. Do you have an extension agent you can contact? They can tell you what will grow in your area, and you can ask about growing potted plants as well.
Nope, no greenhouse. It's pretty obvious that citrus would never survive here outside, and I have zero interest in moving giant pots in and out according to season, so I'll just envy warmer-climate growers their citrus from afar. 🙂
It’s so nice to meet a frugal Florida neighbor. I applaud your effort to create an edible landscape. I have one lemon tree and a gigantic rosemary bush. Although I have had some luck with herbs, I haven’t had any luck with veggies. I don’t believe that I have found the right spot for them. I find the sun, the salt and the soil is a challenge. Any hints?
I live about 20 miles from the coast, so salt isn't the issue for me; sandy poor soil is. I plant my veggies these days in big, cut up, clean drums, and I set them where they get partial shade. Okra likes full sun, but most everything else needs a break in the hot afternoons. I buy a brand called Ocean's Forest soil to fill them, and I add worm castings from my worm bucket. It costs more than just using the yard's dirt, but I am reusing the containers year after year, topping them with a little fresh soil and more worm castings. I also fertilize with a foliar nutrient spray called Spray and Grow (and their companion, Bill's Perfect Fertilizer). They really make a difference, and we've never gotten a crusty build up in the soil from the fertilizer. I even spray it on my fruit trees. I have no affiliation with either company, and I'm sure there are others out there just as good, but that's what I do.
Another option that I saw at the UF agriculture program gardens is to use shade cloth, especially over tomatoes. Gardening in Florida can be hard - good luck!
Thank you, JD. I had not thought about using shade cloth and will look for those products. I grow all sorts of flowers, but haven’t been able to grow a tomato plant.
Thank you JD!
You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
J.D., it's very nice to meet you more in depth. That's an amazing photo of the flower from your mission trip -- so beautiful!
I am also one for perennial herbs. My old rosemary bush was killed by a late season snow a couple of years ago, and we are replacing it this year. My husband misses rosemary chicken on the menu. 🙂
I'm sorry about your rosemary. I love mine to eat, but also for the scent. It's one of my favorite scents.
The blue flowers are pretty wild, aren't they? Those colors look unreal.
Thanks, Ruby.
So lovely to meet you, JD! We also live in Florida and had a blood orange tree for a few years before spider mites destroyed it. Your beautiful gardens encourage me to give planting fruits and vegetables another go! It can be challenging, but is so satisfying. Thank you for the uplifting encouragement!
Some years we get big fails on the yard produce, but most years we get at least something and many years, we get a lot, so give it a try!
Thanks, Haley!
Such a pleasure to read more about you, JD! I always love reading your comments.
Thank you Ruth T, and may I say the same to you.
Hi J D, thanks for sharing! I particularly enjoy hearing about living out frugality in the face of challenges like medical issues and differences in spending between spouses. Most of us have something(s) that make frugal choices challenging, so it's good encouragement.
I love the idea of edible landscaping! We've done a little bit of that with herbs. All the food items on your land must make for fun grandchildren visits too. I remember going over my grandfather's farm and how luxurious it felt to be allowed to pick and eat fresh strawberries!
Hi, Suz,
My grandfather had a farm with a big strawberry patch. I never had to be forced to pick strawberries - I was always happy to do so, because of the big reward at the end.
We have definitely had the challenges. If I had a second piece of advice to give, it would be, talk about money before you get married!
I am really enjoying learning about other FG readers and how we are all different. I look forward to this on Mondays!
I do too. Meeting others has been fun, and it was fun thinking over and answering those questions.
JD: I enjoyed your post. Thanks for sharing your experiences and tips! Great pics, too.
Thanks MB. I really don't have great photography skills, and just realized I never mentioned that a friend of mine on the mission trip actually took the picture of the blue and purple flowers.
I did take the rest, at least.
Menu planning is mostly a fun hobby for me, I set aside an hour to go through menues,recipe cards, etc. It saves SO MUCH TIME AND MONEY!! Since Covid, we don't go out for “food” dates anymore and we don’t miss it. Even our frugal lunches out are a thing of the past. I always have a pot of soup and a loaf of homemade bread here, and we love our back yard patio for a nice “venue!”
We splurged on renting a garden plot in our community garden 1 mile from our house. We’re growing lots of organic salad fixings, herbs,etc. We eat a LOT of produce, and in Arizona we can grow year round.It’s also a great hobby we can do together and so some of our dates are now “Let’s go plant or weed ,or pick lettuce..”
Seeing a few shortages crop up here and there: certain food items,chlorine tabs for the pool, back ordered appliances.. so I am slowly replenishing our pantry to a higher level once again. And yes, a little extra TP (lol)
Nurturing the new feelings of “doing less” since I learned how to be home MUCH more during Covid year.. I have lost desire to run about as much as I used to. Saves gas, saves money,saves sanity!
How I wish menu planning was fun for me! It sounds like you've got a good system going there, Madeline!
Thanks for sharing! I’m also a Florida “native” (aka, moved here 30+ years ago). I’m west of you—more like 100 miles to Tally.
I agree—planning is key for all areas of the world. Planning in Florida is also key for hurricane season. I hope you escaped most of the mess from 2017/2018 and that this year will be kind to you (and me).
My husband is a native "Panhandler" and was stationed in Pensacola in the Navy. He has good memories of that area.
We did okay in the hurricanes, but some of our family in the P.C. area had a lot of damage. We were lucky, no one was hurt or killed, though.
Stay safe -- a new season is coming! Thanks!
I loved reading this post, JD! My husband and I always waffle between doing really good about being frugal and failing miserably at it (esp because we have 4 kids 9-16 and there is a never ending list of expenses and experiences that come along with this age). I found your post to be so inspiring. You never know what tomorrow will bring, but if we do our best today to live with the blessings the Lord has provided, and trust that he will provide the manna we need for tomorrow, we will be ok. Thank you!
Thank you, Kate, what a lovely comment!
Hi JD!
Oh, the fluffy cat! I want to come over to pet him. 🙂 Also, I'd be interested to know the name of your Guatemalan flower. It's beautiful.
Thanks for sharing a little about yourself. I agree with you on the need to plan ahead, especially financially. Sooner or later something WILL break down or you will have an unexpected expense and it gives such peace of mind to know that you have some money set aside for that. I hope I'm training my teens to understand that and plan ahead as they move into their adult years. I'm curious to know if you did anything special to teach your children how to handle their money, and if you feel like you were successful in doing so. Maybe that's a subject for a whole post. I like to gleam wisdom from those who are a little ahead of me on life's journey.
Hi, Kris,
That cat is fluffy, plus he's f.a.t. He was dumped in our yard, we think, because he had been taught to play aggressively as a cute little kitten, but by the time he was abandoned in our yard, he was a big young cat who drew blood regularly. It took us a few years to teach him to play gently. A good bit of human blood was shed in the process :).
I have no idea what the flowering plant is, sadly. It was growing all over a pergola at a restaurant. I had to really check it out to make sure it was real - it is!
I feel like we could have done better with our kids than we did, but both of our kids have learned some pretty good frugal skills, especially the naturally frugal one. We explained the why's of saving money, and of course, since money was tight as they grew up, they saw with their own eyes that luxuries come only after necessities are taken care of and that there are creative ways to do more with less. We let both of them have their money from baby-sitting and after-school jobs for personal/fun spending, but they had to learn -- when it was gone, it was gone, till next pay day.
I abhor menu planning but yes, it works out so much better when I do it. The nights when we have nothing planned are usually so hectic and frustrating for me. So it's better for me to do the work up front than kick the can down the road.
That is exactly it. That describes an unplanned evening meal, exactly.
Another interesting "interview". It was fun to read about edible landscaping and The Tightwad Gazette providing focus for frugality. JD is living proof that we can do hard things. Thank you for sharing.
The Tightwad Gazette was amazing, and it's amazing how many of us found it. I think it's a natural that we ended up here.
Thank you for the nice comments, KD.
My favorite reader "meet" so far! We could be twinsies, except I grew up/live in Ohio! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! My husband lived in Ohio for several years before returning home to Florida, and we always enjoyed visiting his family members that stayed in Ohio. Ohio is a very pretty state.
great practical advice!
Thanks! I honestly wasn't sure I had that much to contribute.
"Being stretched too thin gets expensive in many ways!" What a great statement!
I've found it to be very, very true. Thanks, Julie.
JD and I had a conversation here once about the weather (I am in Wisconsin) and since then, I always notice her posts and imagine her in that wonderful, warm FL sunshine while I am freezing in the snow and below zero temps in our WI winters. Also, I felt like we were close in age and I recently turned 65 as well!! I only know FL as a tourist on vacation, so it is so interesting to see everyday life and country life there. Your tip to plan ahead is my philosophy in so many ways as well. I try to be ready and able to deal with any situation or issue that comes along, whether it is health, financial, or family related. It was great learning more about you, JD! I hope your husband is doing well today.
I have learned to only love the sunshine in spring and fall :). I was surprised to find people my age (more or less) here. It's good to meet you all.
My husband is doing better, thanks. The hospital and I are trying to find a rehab facility for him right now. It gets tougher with Covid.
Hi JD, very nice to meet you. This is such a nice series. I have been reading this blog for about 8 years and feel like I know some of the commentors. But these profiles really enhance that.
And yes I agree it takes discipline and planning to be frugal. It just doesn't happen.
One other thing when my husband and I were getting married we had to go through a course my church required and the thing my husband and I scored a 100% on our individual tests was money matters. I remember being so relieved. That is the only test I remember maybe because we didn't do so well on the others. But we are still married.
I'm delighted to see you are able to comment more here lately. That is fascinating about your great-grandfather.
I think you are right about what the FG gang has in common!
Uh, that was to A. Marie. Somehow I missed.
To Karen, and maybe I won't mess this one up when I post it-- my husband and I got married by a justice of the peace, as I was a poor bank teller and he was in a temporary layoff at work, so no counseling or anything. We should have had premarital counseling, for sure. At the very least, we should have discussed money!
My reply to Karen disappeared. I think a gremlin has taken over. I'll just say, Thanks Karen for your nice comments!
Hi, JD. Delighted to read this post and to discover we have something else in common: an interest in Florida gardening. My favorite great-grandfather (my maternal grandmother's father) came to FL from Michigan in the late 1890s to try his hand at running a pineapple plantation on the Indian River--and although it ultimately failed because of the nematodes that got the pineapples, he never stopped gardening (or tinkering with pineapples) till he died at age 89.5 in 1965. He's the only great-grandparent I ever got to meet. And when one of his grandchildren (my mother's favorite first cousin) asked him the secret of his longevity, he replied, "Curiosity and enthusiasm!" I think those are things that you, I, and the rest of the Frugal Girl gang have in common.
A. Marie, I answered you by replying to Karen because, I do that sort of thing, I guess. Sorry! I am very happy you were able to read and comment today.
the Frugal Girl gang...I like the sound of that! Interesting post JD
Thanks for sharing! Your dog is a cutie! Only readers of a certain age will appreciate your 17% interest dilemma. Anyone who thinks 5% is an obscene mortgage rate should research what people were paying in the '80s. 17% was not rare.
Thanks, we are very fond of that dog, and she follows my husband everywhere he goes on his scooter or walker.
Ah, you remember those days of high interest rates, too! It was awful. I remember my sister and her husband felt incredibly lucky to get 12.5% on a house, and were almost dancing in joy. Those were not the good old days!
Thanks, Bobi.
The medical needs of my spouse have also greatly affected our financial reality, so I can really relate ro your story. How great that you did get into a right-sized home for you and are able to stay in it. Thanks for sharing your story!
Yes, having a health issue can sure put a wrench in one's financial spokes. I'm glad I mentioned it, then, since you were able to relate to that!
Thanks!
Love your pooch. So nice to hear your story. Grandkids are the best although I don't have any. I am an older mom. I subscribed to Tightwad Gazette back in the day. 1600 sq ft sound large to me. I live with my hubby and two kids in 750 sq. ft. apt in the city. Paying for college when your kids are little is just genius. Good for you. I wish you only the best. Thanks for sharing.
We love that funny pooch, too.
Florida made it really easy to pre-pay for college tuition on a monthly basis so that it was all paid up by the time they left high school. We also only paid the tuition amount that was current when we first signed the contract, so we paid less tuition as well. It was a no-brainer, really.
I agree, 1600 sq. ft. is very doable. You'd be surprised, though, at how many people criticized us for building so "small!"
Thanks for your comment!
I admire your efforts to put your yardspace to good, edible use. I remember reading back in my 20s about how sad it is that here in the US (and probably other places also!) we have mostly chosen the route of planting inedible grass around our houses, rather than using the space for things that would better serve us! Good for you for making your yard work for you 🙂
I would love to eliminate no less than 50 percent of my grass, but I doubt I'll get there anytime soon. I love being able to walk past my fig tree and pull off a fresh, sweet fig and eat it right there. That's so much better than mowing!
Hi JD! This was a lovely profile. Like others, I enjoyed the plant pictures. Judging from your comments, you seem to really know your way around a garden! Homegrown ocra sounds especially delicious.
There is nothing to beat fresh-picked okra, and growing it myself means I can make sure I pick it while it's good and tender.
I'm not the best gardener, but I have learned lot about gardening over the years, and love to read up on it. I like to at least give things a try and see what works.
Thanks!
Edible landscaping is going to be my new favorite term. I have raspberries and black currants on one side of my home. One summer a raspberry like plant sprung up in a flower bed by the mailbox. Out of curiosity I left it there. It turned out to be the most delicious wild black raspberries which keep spreading and producing more and more berries.
I’m a little embarrassed to admit I had no idea Florida has “country” towns. I’m surrounded by dairy farms and corn fields. Wondering what FL country looks like.
Edible landscaping is great ... unless you have bears. That happened to us with our wild raspberry bushes and the deer and bears loved them.
Like Battra92 says, I have to watch out for wildlife, but thankfully, we have enough people with dogs around us that we don't get too much deer intrusion, and the bears have so far stayed farther out in the woods.
North Florida is often rural. Many small towns, lots of countryside and huge forests. In my county, we have five towns in the whole county, the largest being maybe 10,000 - 12,000 people. Southern accents are thick here, cows are common, logging and reforestation are big employers, and hunting and fishing are huge pasttimes for many. Don't be embarrassed - it's really not that well known just how small-town/countrified parts of Florida are.
I am enjoying these "interviews" very much! What a great way to get to know others. And thanks, JD, for your quiet wisdom. You sound like someone we could sit down with and enjoy a cup of tea and a lovely long chat. I second your respect for the Tightwad Gazette. I don't remember how I heard about it but thanks to the library, read all the books back when i was newly married (perhaps 25 years ago?) I highly recommend them to anyone who wants to learn all kinds of info about frugal living!!
A long chat with an iced tea for me, please - it sounds lovely.
Thanks!
So nice to read about you and hear your advice and experience! I am the worst gardener so I truly admire your move to edible landscape. You are so right -- it's the everyday stuff that "surprises" me by breaking or wearing out when I should really expect it. Your part of the world sounds very lovely and the pictures are beautiful. Olives! And that amazing whatever it was flower from Guatemala -- just stunning. So fun to meet you -- thank you!
I still let myself get caught now and then by an expense I should have expected :).
Thanks for your encouragement!
That was a good read! Thank you.
Thank you for the compliment!
JD-- Nice to virtually meet you! We also have a kitty that was dumped on us about a decade ago.
And, as I sit and read your post and the comments, I really should be planning our meals for a busy tomorrow-- dentist appointments, soccer games, and driver's ed. for my son!
I love the edible landscape, too. It's so nice to sometimes have fresh parsley for a recipe (or whatever other thing) instead of just skipping it because I won't drive 5 miles to town for something like that. . . but being able to send a child outside to clip some sure is nice.
I grow parsley, too, as well as two kinds of mint and lemongrass. It's time to get basil growing again - it never makes it through winter for me. It is great to just go out and pick it, isn't it?
Hi JD - thanks for sharing your knowledge. Such beautiful flowers.
Thank you! The coneflowers are super easy to grow here, so I can't really take much credit for them.
Thank you for giving us a peek into your life and home. I really appreciated it.
You're welcome Nancy!
Hi JD.
Loved hearing about your edible gardening efforts. My parents did that when we were kids and I was not allowed to pick the green beans as they never made it into the house ; ) . Wish I could grow stuff on our terrace but have always has major issues with bugs from the neighbors' plantings and the soil at the local community garden is too close to a major roadway to grow edibles that can be safely ingested.
You are right about the meal planning. We try to think of ways to cook big on weekends and then use the leftovers throughout the week.
So nice to meet you JD! I am 60, so I remember high interest rates & still refer back to my Tightwad Gazette book. I loved your comments on edible landscaping, as I have been thinking of trying to incorporate this around our suburban home. My husband is also disabled & I have an autoimmune condition as well. It is so helpful & inspiring to find others in similar situations who give hope & encouragement.
Wow it was awesome to meet you. I like you go way back to the Tightwad Gazette and learned much about being a frugal girl. I hate you have to drive so far into work every day, my heart goes out to you and that drive!! My husband doesn't care so much about money, as I do, so I guess we balance out each other somewhat!! I loved your flowers and never thought about an edible landscape but it sounds so good! I love olives and never would have dreamed of growing olives. I just bought my garden vegetables yesterday and I hope to have success this year with my tomatoes and okra! Yes I agree with you there is nothing like fresh okra to cook one of my favorite foods. Again it was great hearing about you and your wonderful place!
Thank you for sharing!