Meet a Reader | Maureen, from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Florida
Today we're meeting Maureen, who lives in three different states throughout the year!
1. Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a 59-year-old mom of 5: my three boys, plus two bonus kids, ranging in age from 23-30.
My second husband and I have been together for almost 18 years. I work remotely full-time from home, which is a pandemic blessing. We don't have any pets; we did 5 kids! 🙂
We have three residences:
- Main house in MN, 2 bedroom rambler
- Park model with an addition that we use as a cabin on a lake in WI
- 5th wheel toy hauler in FL in winter
I like to read, play pickle ball, travel, downhill ski, and I love a good bonfire and pontoon with friends and family.
2. How long have you been reading frugal girl?
Frugal Girl is my lunchtime reward. I look forward to reading Kristen’s posts every day. I started with Tightwad Gazette years ago and jumped to Frugal Girl shortly after. I don’t often read comments or post comments.
I think my fear is I will get sucked up into the conversations. Being a task-oriented person, my rabbit holes are normally saved for later at night.
And, I question, do I belong in this frugal club? Do I have something to add? You will see I swing in and out of frugality depending on my needs. The frugal skill is a great security blanket.
3. How did you get interested in saving money?
My frugal story begins when I got divorced. I had our 3 kids half-time, ages 11, 9, and 5. I wanted to be financially independent, fully responsible for my half of providing for the kids and then some, plus I wanted to save for my own future.
I am proud of my resourcefulness, non-dependence on anyone else during this difficult time period. Even when I was remarried it was important to me to be independent, pay for my own children, and their needs, and help meet our financial goals as a couple.
I taught myself frugality. I had to get comfortable with thrift shopping, going without, researching how to budget and eliminating all except bare essentials.
4. What's the "why" behind your money-saving efforts?
After getting thru the tight years having met my goal of paying for a large portion of my kids college, my lifestyle choices pushed me to further strengthen my frugal muscles.
Lifestyle choices equals travel, upgrade our housing situation, do fun things with my new husband, and then eventually having more than one fun place to escape to.
I focus on purposeful frugality when I am trying to accomplish a goal. Frugality is a tool I use to meet those goals, and to live the life I want for me and my family.
I have always had the same career where I earned a good income that steadily increased to where I could be a breadwinner for our family.
I chose to not to take a promotion, though, because the kids were young and I needed time for my new relationship.
I am not the entrepreneur type and prefer not to have a side gig that would take away from the fun. My strength is providing for my family in a job that is flexible for my kids and contributes towards my husband and my lifestyle and our financial goals.
5. What's your best frugal win?
It’s the small stuff that wins the frugal race for me. I do not use credit cards. I have a credit card on the off chance they will not take my debit card. But, food is where I win.
Our refrigerator is empty except condiments, eggs, and cheese. My pantry is empty except maybe beans, leftover ingredients from a planned menu item or party dish, and baking goods.
We have full freezers with a quarter cow and leftovers. After cooking if we won’t eat leftovers they next day, they goes in the freezer to be eaten when home from FL or on weekdays when not socializing.
Since I do not want food to go bad moving between 3 homes, I regularly plan menus around ingredients I have.
I love the challenge of cooking only with the ingredients on hand, trying to use up each item, maybe only purchasing that one additional item.
I often host family and friend gatherings. Whatever I cannot pawn off on guests I freeze for a future meal.
When eating out I often save half to eat later; that's smart both financially and for my waistline.
6. What's a dumb money mistake you've made?
Purchasing the big house, actually two big houses, before I got divorced.
I tell my kids, stick with the small house. 20 some years go by fast and you will thank your younger self once that small house is paid off. And when your kids are gone that small house is the perfect size.
7. What's one thing you splurge on?
Interior design is my passion.
I go with the high/low theory: some furniture from a top designer, and some from IKEA.
I keep my design at our main house minimal. No nick knacks. Saves money and time on dusting and who wants all this stuff when I am gone?!
I learned that lesson when my parents downsized. My décor has to have a purpose like a candle or a blanket, or it has to be something that is meaningful such as a Hummel passed down from my mom or artwork made from family photos.
Organization is my strength and my go-to mode.
When organized I know where everything is.
And purging allows me to only have what I may use. I don't end up buying duplicates, and I have room to store bulk deals.
Organization allows me to be creative when it comes to projects, gift-giving, party planning, decorating, and cooking.
Also, organization has a big role having 3 ‘homes’.
8. What's one thing you aren't remotely tempted to splurge on?
Up until age 58, I would have said a car. Once I was focused on frugal living I paid in cash 3500-7000 for used cars and drove them until they frequently cost more than 1000 per repair.
Finally, at age 58, I was able to pay cash for a reliable new to me car (one year old with 10,000 miles on it).
I do not do manicures or lots of makeup. My hair is its natural color and I maybe cut it annually.
9. If $1000 was dropped into your lap today, what would you do with it?
I keep a spreadsheet for my savings.
Each year I save for various things for the following year so I can pay cash for things like:
- vacation
- taking kids out to Christmas and birthday dinners
- maximum contribution towards an IRA.
- kids trip to Florida.
- future grooms dinners, weddings.
- a project at our cabin.
I would put $1000 towards whatever bucket was next on my list to save.
10. What frugal tips have you tried and abandoned?
Couponing. Back in the day, your coupons were in the newspaper and I did not even want to pay for a subscription.
11. What single action or decision has saved you the most money over your life?
Have you watched Til Debt Do Us Part with Gail Vaz-Oxlade? It's a Canadian show that ran from 2005-2011.
I was obsessed with this show after my divorce. Gail worked with couples for a month who were in debt, and they earned up to $5000 based on their progress in learning how to budget. I learned the envelope/jar cash budget system from the show.
I only just recently threw away my cash envelopes! The ease of online tools and finally having all kids out of my back pocket allowed for this brave move. 🙂
12. What is something you wish more people knew?
You can turn frugality on or off depending on your needs and goals. I’d say most of my friends and family would not consider me frugal. Frugality is my hidden talent. 😉
13. How has reading the Frugal Girl changed you?
I appreciate how upfront Kristen is, and how she has shared about her divorce. I talked about my divorce publicly in a newspaper article one other time in the beginning and it did not go so well. I don’t want to hurt anyone. It’s been almost 20 years and I still feel the same way though.
When going thru something difficult it is important to surround yourself with like-minded people. Find your tribe. The more people that share, the better. So, here I am again.
Here is one of my frugal wins after the divorce: The kids moved between their dad’s house and mine.
Twice a year I would begin at my house and then go to their dads to sort thru clothes to see what fit, could be passed down, what needed to be purchased and what needed to be moved between the two houses to even the clothing out.
Having all boys made it easier and more helpful.
14. Which is your favorite type of post at the Frugal Girl and why?
Two!
Meet a Reader – I am an open book and appreciate when others are too.
Five Frugal Things – I like these posts because they are affirmations that I am being frugal.
Since I rarely comment, here are five frugal things I do.
1.) I purchase no kitchen garbage bags; I only use plastic or paper bags from stores. I know, not environmentally ok.
2.). I do not buy extra hangers, and I regularly purge what I do not use anymore. If buy something new or thrifted, I remove something else from closet. Having no dresser allows me to see what I have and don’t need.
3.) I sew curtains, pillows and do all my mending.
4.) I use the Libby Library app.
5.) I keep my thermostat at 64-66 in a state where it is often below zero Fahrenheit real feel and 30 below wind-chill or feels like.
Bonus points – I do my own gardening and landscape design and we regularly purchase ¼ cows.
15. Did you ever receive any financial education in school or from your parents?
I wish I had been more frugal in my 20-30’s. My mom and dad lived a simple life, within their means, saving money. Mom was a stay-at-home mom. I could see that my parents lived below their means so as to save.
Today’s generation I think is lucky that things like thrift stores, recycling, and up-cycling are popular. It is cool to be frugal. I do not remember these being part of my youth.
16. Do you have any tips for frugal travel or vacations?
Did you know you can fly with frozen leftovers in your carry-on?
I have been known to have so many in my carry-on luggage I need help lifting into the overhead bin. Not sure if you can do the same with checked-in luggage. We always fly with carry-on only.
Do your research. I know lots of people don’t want to make plans when on vacation. But, at least research the area. Have ideas for restaurants, sights to see. Know when places open, close, and what they cost.
If there is something you really want to do make sure you get a reservation. In the end, if you do none of the researched ideas that is ok. At least you did not waste precious time and money. When everyone says what should we do today you can refer to your handy list.
Lastly, I know not everyone can do this one, but travel with points.
My husband buys all his product for his business with a credit card that earns us enough points for hotels which we use for random fun road trips and for all our air travel between FL and MN. We have even used it for car rental.
We have not paid for flights in the three years since we started wintering in our RV in FL!
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Maureen, I am so impressed by how organized you are, and I gotta say, you have inspired me to work on eating down the food in my fridge and freezer.
I know you said you were encouraged by me sharing about my divorce; well, I'm encouraged to see your happy second marriage along with a meaningful life that you've built for yourself post-divorce!
Seeing someone else get back on their feet reminds me that I can do that too. 🙂
A question: before the pandemic (and the accompanying work-remotely option), did you still split your time between states?
I wish I was this Maureen! LOL I love organization, but have too much "stuff". And I have been telecommuting for almost 20 years, but we are not allowed to do the 6 month thingy. Well maybe we could, but we would have to foot the bill for the cable for 6 months and I'm too cheap to do that. So I'll just visit Florida on vacation!
Nice to meet you Maureen!
@Maureen, Nice to meet another Maureen. Do you do Mo or Reeny? Lucky you telecommuting for all that time. Prior to pandemic I had always worked full time in office, it was kinda freaky! Fortunately my work chose Florida as one of the states we are able to work from. You are right, the cost of utilities in more then one residence makes us often question what are we doing?!
Hi Maureen! This was fun. Your chosen life couldn't be more different than mine, so it was very interesting to read how you make it work. Your organization is impressive, for sure.
Your tip about bringing frozen food on a plane reminded me of a frugal time in my life: About two months after I moved from AZ to NY with my husband, I went back to AZ to be in a good friend's wedding. My husband was working a low-paying hourly job, and I hadn't found a job yet. That trip cost pretty much everything I had. I stayed with my parents in AZ, and my mom sent me home with about half a honeybaked ham she had in her freezer, kept frozen on the plane with dry ice (it might have been checked though, because of the dry ice--I can't remember). For the next week after I got back, we ate pretty much nothing but baking powder biscuits (cheap with pantry staples!) and that ham until my husband got his next paycheck.
Sometimes it's good to remember more difficult times in order to appreciate what we have now.
@kristin @ going country, I do remember times like this! Sometimes I share these things with my adult children, and they seem surprised. I must have been very good at hiding the tough times.
@kristin @ going country, 100%. A good lesson for me as a parent also. Sometimes it is ok for my kids to struggle, have hard times. As this is what makes them stronger, flexible and appreciative. I tested the waters with yogurt, TSA took that. I hated seeing it go in the garbage.
I loved this Meet a Reader.
Thank you.
@Denise, Thank you! Big smile.
That was a refreshing interview, thank you! You have great hair!
@Christine81, Laugh out loud. My boys were just here for a visit in FL. All three of them just assumed I colored my hair. Huh! See, I used to be a red head up until about 45. You can see my freckles. I was called Fire Ball in high school. I colored my hair for about 8 years because I thought it was going grey. I had to go every 4 weeks, sit in a chair for 3 hours and oh! the $$$. I said enough 5 years ago. An low and behold my hair was not grey now, it was blond! You, have a good day.
Wait, this is your natural hair color? Oh wow! You are so lucky!!
Maureen,
So nice to "meet" you! I think your age must have been a typo; there's no way you're 59!
Don't worry about using grocery bags for your trash. It actually puts less plastic waste into the environment than buying garbage bags.
Cheryl
That's what I was thinking: that you need a garbage bag one way or another, so the difference is probably minimal.
@CHERYL, OK, whew! Good to know.
@Kristen, Not my area of expertise. Are there paper kitchen garbage bags you can buy?
@CHERYL, I was going to say the same thing about her age!
@CHERYL, In Canada all plastic bags from grocery stores, hardware stores, department stores and clothing stores have been banned. Paper bags are available at the grocery store for 15 cents each! No way am I paying that so we all just have gotten into the habit of taking our own reusable bags.
Soon plastic produce bags will be banned. So I have saved some bread bags for long, loose produce such as celery and leeks. And am now armed with various sizes of mesh bags for produce, depending on type and number. I can use paper lunch bags for tomatoes or say a single red onion.
I was using plastic grocery bags to line my kitchen bins too. All used up so now must purchase biodegradable plastic like bags made of vegetable material to line my bins.
Overall better for the environment and in my opinion a small sacrifice to make. Lots of public outcry but people can and do adjust to change.
Maureen, I loved reading about the abundant life that you've created that is uniquely yours. Thank you for sharing in words and pictures. As a fellow Minnesota girl, I get that you'd want to spend winters in Florida!
@MB in MN, Especially after this winter in the Twin Cities! 3rd snowiest on record, and maybe still growing. Warms my heart seeing my 23 year old on our Blink camera at home shoveling away.
@Maureen, This is my first minnesota winter. 5th (4th?) snowiest on record, and we're not done. Though I have thoroughly enjoyed the snow, I think I'm ready for spring!
@Kaitlin, welcome to Minnesota! Your first winter has been a doozy, for sure. It's usually not like this (which I think many of us can say given all the wild weather events seemingly everywhere). Spring, summer and fall are mostly glorious here.
@Kaitlin, Wow, just wow. Welcome.
Hi Maureen, nice to meet you!
I've always been fascinated with tiny houses, which is what your cabin looks like.
Going through my parents things after they passed away also made me more conscious of the knowledge that my kids will have to do the same for me one day. So I need to do all I can now to lighten their burden. I haven't gotten to the minimalist place yet, but I am in the process of purging right now.
@Elaine N, When we were preparing to move to this current house I spent 3 years going thru every…single…item in the house. I threw out, donated or sold so much! Kids don’t want our stuff. But, I do want to point out to them what is of value in our house or sentimental. So, I took pics of those items, writing a little about each. Put the list in our safe and said if we die draw numbers and take your pick. I said I do not care if you sell or keep the item. Just know it’s worth.
@Maureen, Taking pictures and keeping a writing a bit of info about the items is a great idea. I may have to use that one, if I ever get around to being that organized!
Hi Maureen! Oh, how I long to be organized like you are. I just can't get there. I keep pep talking myself into getting rid of a lot of my clothes, and only keeping/wearing what I love but it's HARD. I think part of that is worrying that I'll get to a point where I can't afford a b or c, and I might "need" it. I not only have a dresser, but a bench and a chair with clothes on them (granted, my 1950s closet is tiny!). Sigh. I also love your mountain painting wall! So peaceful. 🙂
@Sarah C., I truly think organization is something you are born with. So, don’t be hard on yourself. I often wish I was born with athleticism. Especially now as I take up my first sport, Pickle Ball. Getting rid of clutter is freeing. Have you watched Tidying Up by Marie Kondo? I am basically her, just not as rich. Huh!
@Sarah C., I struggle too as I make most of my clothes and hate to purge them. But if you are persistent over time, and really work at it an hour every Saturday, say, you can make a big improvement. I found that my energy is amped if I plan a big disruptive project like painting, or a long trip, so I have a deadline.
@Maureen: And even Marie Kondo has admitted that the tidying-up thing is a lot harder now that she has three kids. All the more reason for us all to forgive ourselves any natural deficits in this area and just do the best with what we have and are. (I'm the product of a mixed marriage: My father was a compulsive organizer/tidier, and my mother was a packrat. So I constantly do a tradeoff between the two tendencies.)
@A. Marie, I like that, mixed marriage :).
Hi, it’s wonderful to meet you. I’m always interested to find out why and how people come to live in Florida. We are the same age and when we were born Florida only had 4 million people. Now it has nearly 39 million more. Questions: Do you leave your 5th Wheel in Florida when it’s not in use? Did you come to live in Florida during the pandemic? Do you plan on retiring in Florida or to continue enjoying your 3 homes?
@Bee, I hear you on the crowds. I see the differences in traffic congestion. We chose FL over AZ because this is where we have more friends.
5th wheel - first 2 winters my husband drove it back to MN. He is so over that, so much work! We have now hurricane strapped it down so that this summer it won’t budge.
Yes, the pandemic brought us to FL. I was able to work 100% remotely for the first time.
Your last question, how much time do you have? We still don’t know. And sometimes we don’t agree. It makes no sense to me to have 3 homes, we are not in that price bracket. But, for now we need them. The big one for my husbands business and the cabin is paid for and our favorite. Lots of people here in FL, when you hear their story, eventually sell the main house. We would love to see other states for month here and there. In FL I am so so curious about how everyone can afford to do this?
Hi - Maureen here.
Kristen,
We started going to FL in an RV the first year of the pandemic. It had never occurred to me to do this before because of course we all worked in the office. Once I was fully remote the idea became possible. I was 57 at that time and did not think I would be able to do the snow bird thing until I retired. I often felt guilty that first year, escaping the cold and being able to be outside during the pandemic. It still amazes me that I can do this. Thanks Kristen for all you do for this community.
No way you are 59! And five boys!
@Lisa Lamm, I have 3 boys. My husband has a son and daughter. And thanks, my parents passed on their good genetics.
I loved reading about you! I, too, am super organized. My pantry is a thing of beauty...LOL! My linen closet is so organized, even my friends like to look in there!!
And, I do all the research for lodging and restaurants when we travel...who wants to waste time driving around looking for a place to eat? Not me!
I'm also NOT frugal all the time, but I try and I really do admire all the people that are frugal.
@Viktoria M Sacker, I hear music each time I walk into my pantry / office / catch all room. We should organize full time.
@Maureen, My husband works with a single guy who built himself the kitchen and walk-in pantry that people who love to cook and bake would kill for. You could fit a king size bed and then some in the pantry alone. I told him he should put pictures of them instead of himself on Tinder; he would get the attention of thousands.
@Lindsey, for real !
@Lindsey, So true! I love watching organizing TV shows, following organizers.
@Lindsey,
I joked that I married my husband for his kitchen!!
Maureen, Your life looks like so much fun! I am fascinated by how you’ve achieved your goals by designing your home, your work, even your fridge and lovely husband to create the full life you want by judicious thrift.
These Meet the Reader posts give us delightful glimpses into lives lived well though in endlessly different ways. Thanks, Maureen, and Kristen for the insightful questions.
@Erika JS, I love talking to people. Always curious about their lives. I am thankful not everyone is like me. How boring it would be.
Oh, me too! I love to hear people's stories; it's always fun for me to learn about my classmates at the beginning of a semester.
Watched Gail Van Oxlade on CBC when she was on Steven and Chris Show. Best advice she gave was, "You go out for an expensive dinner and 10 or 12 hours later where is it? In the toilet."
@Lilli, What is the Steven and Chris Show?
@Maureen, Steven and Chris were 2 guys who had a show on CBC in Canada a number of years ago, they were so much fun, their banter would keep you in stitches for the whole show. I loved their show, they had many guests on the show, featuring lifestyle segments like money, cooking, fashion, decor etc.
@Maureen, A Design show on CBC Canada we use to see in the States. The closest example is CITYLINE with Traci Moore. We don't get the Canadian television shows since 2012 or 2013. I do recall Gail having a show about spoiled children with the name PRINCESS in the title.
@Lilli, Yes, Gail’s show Princess featured some rather entitled, spoiled young adults. Both of Gail’s shows were great. Not all of her guests were successful at changing their spending habits. Many were though. Don’t know how guests did/are doing over the long term.
@Linda in Canada, Cool
I loved this post and the "empty fridge" tactic is really unique. Do your husband/kids protest this at all? I am a fellow boat-owner and it is definitely not a frugal hobby but boy it sure is fun! Thanks so much for sharing 😉
@Sarah K, I cook for my husband almost every night. He will eat anything. I just make sure to cook with the ingredients I have on hand. Of course often I end up with extra of something from that nights menu so I then make sure to find a recipe for the next week that will use up that menu item. When I grocery shop I only buy what is on my list for that weeks meals. I make sure there are snacks he can grab. Fruit, hard boiled eggs, a left over.
Kids, only one left in the house. He buys his own food, he is 23. When they were in the house and I was cooking for them, yes, it was slightly different. I cooked separate meal for them, food they like. But, I still operated on the mantra to not waste food and cook with only what I had.
Maureen, my pantry and refrigerator weep in shame at all the glorious space and lack of waste in your home and the clutter and overkill in mine! You have inspired me to do better. I really enjoyed meeting you!
@glenna, Thank you Glenna. Much easier now that only 1 kid left in house. I was able to take my house back.
OMG. You don't look a day over thirty. Amazing is such an overused word but you are AMAZING. I learned so much from you. Thank you for posting.
@Anita Isaac, blushing here. Why have I not been reading comments? So much positivity in the room as everyone always says about Kristen’s followers.
Hi, Maureen, nice to meet you! I admire the neatness of your homes. I did have one question - since your camper is in Florida, do you keep more supplies on hand there in case a hurricane makes a last minute change in trajectory and you can't evacuate at that point?
I was also interested in your paving job. I've laid a lot of brick pavers in my time, so it was fun to see someone else's work. It looks good!
@JD, No, we do not keep extra supplies here for hurricane. We tend to be in MN during Florida’s hurricane season and the RV is too small for bulk. We do have a very large generator.
Pavers, that was a fun project, like a puzzle. I put locking sand down. Prior to the pavers previous owner had mulch. I was raking mulch each weekend to make it look nice and it kept washing away.
Thanks, Maureen, for another fascinating Meet a Reader. As Erika JS has said, your life is very different from mine--but a large part of the pleasure for in these Meet a Reader posts is seeing how many different ways there are to be frugal. Happy trails!
@A. Marie, 100%. Happy day to you.
Hi Maureen - this was so fun; thanks for sharing! I love the diversity of FG readers, and all our various approaches to happy frugal living. I'm especially impressed with your food system, and how you keep track of food between 3 locales. I've often thought that would be a challenge if you have more than one home, particularly if there's not much storage. Love hearing how you handle it! And I've been trying to re-use plastic shopping bags as garbage bags too (though we still have both) - I was inspired by a house I pass on my walks where they always put out plenty of recycling, but the most I've ever seen is one half-bag of trash, and it's always in a re-used mulch/water conditioner etc. type bag.
Your interior designing style is beautiful - love the wall of mountains!
@Suz, Thanks on the wall mural. It was an Etsy buy. I love Etsy, such unique items.
“Frugal girl is my lunchtime reward”! Me too!!!!!
@Catherine, Yeah!
Another wonderful Meet A Reader post! Maureen, thank you so much for sharing your fascinating story.
I really appreciated her point about big houses. I'm sure many folks are familiar with the USDA estimate of how much it costs to raise a child to 18. Well, a big chunk of that total amount is housing because people tend to want a bedroom per child. My nerd self actually looked at these numbers when we were considering how many kids to have. We intentionally bought a house that would be a comfortable size before and after we had kids but tight when there were six of us in the house. (Lordy, it felt super tight when everyone was home at all times during the pandemic!) We haven't been in the thick of the teenage years yet, when I imagine this could change, but so far, the kids have done well sharing rooms. And I think they are learning important lessons about sharing and getting along.
@Amanda, I agree fully. I regret buying into wanting to keep up with the Jones’s. Families used to share 1 bathroom! I would not recommend that. Good luck!
Several things you said are key: live below your means (smaller housing, drive older cars, pay cash, less is more, make food less important by eating frugally, be organized, work hard, do all this over time, stop shopping as a hobby) thank you.
@Connie, oh my. I had not thought about that. I dislike shopping. I actually get sweaty when walking into a mall. I simply go to exactly where I need to go, buy the item and leave. Shopping is NOT a hobby for me.
Hi Maureen! Thanks for sharing your story. I also look forward to reading Kristen’s posts every day - a lunchtime or mid morning reward if it’s been a challenging morning!
I like what you said about using frugality as a tool. I live in Florida and have so much respect for you northerners- we complain when the temp goes below 40. 🙂
@Jackie, We chuckle at the Floridians use of puffy coats. I have not worn jeans yet since being here.
Wow! Super impressed by your organizing abilities! In 3 different places too!
Your lifestyle looks to be super active, and it's inspiring! I'm 41 and have been slowly trying to love exercising since 2017. This year is the first year I can say I'm beginning to like it!
I wish to be as physically active as you in the future!
Thank you so much for sharing!
@Kelly, Oh, I would not say I am an exerciser. I do walk every day. And now added pickle ball. There is something though as you said about just being active. I am hyper active, keep busy, get me to do list done. Glad you are now enjoying exercising, not easy at 41.
@Maureen, I think staying active and continuing to exercise is hard and gets harder every year one is over 30 maybe?
For me, Jennifer Gunter's The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism gave me the kick I absolutely needed to get in 150 to 300 minutes of vigorous exercise a week and lifting weights. My fear of heart disease and loss of balance is greater than my dread of exercising.
Also forgot to mention earlier that like you, I'm not exactly frugal either. I read The Frugal Girl because Kristen writes authentically from the heart. I love her Meet a Reader and her posts on food waste.
Through Kristen's inspiring posts, I pretty much have near zero food waste for the last several years and counting.
Your post was especially inspiring to me because getting organized is a priority of mine this year.
Thanks for responding!
Thanks for the encouragement to stick with the small house! I need that encouragement some days.
Yes, you absolutely belong in this frugal community. 🙂 I have some good friends that are the "work hard, play hard" type and they spend on lots of things that aren't on my radar at all (ski trips, Jeep adventures, etc.) but they are frugal in lots of other areas to be able to do those things. Life doesn't have to be focused on frugality 100% of the time!
@Ruth T, Good to know I am not alone.
I'd never heard of a Park Model Home so thank you for exposing me to something new!
@Lindsey, So, it is a park model with an addition. A bedroom, living area and porch were added to the original park model. I suppose some people call them a trailer!
Hi Maureen, I loved your interview. As a Canadian, I appreciate the shout-out for Gail Vaz-Oxlade, I loved her show and watched all the episodes I think. I have in the past taken some of her books out of the library to read as well. She was/ is very inspiring.
@Linda in Canada, I’ll have to check out her books.
I also was divorced and now have been married to my second husband for 22 years. Curious as to how you split up your time between the three places? A certain number of weeks in each place or do you vary each year? How does it work out with visiting children/grandchildren? You have the best of both, winter in the south and summer in the north!
@Cindy, For the last 3 years….Nov - Mid April FL. MN Mid April - Oct. Go to WI every weekend April - Oct. But, this could change. Life is short. Only so many good years left to travel see other places. We make a decision year by year as far as FL is concerned.
The kids are adults, have their own lives. None are married. We do pay for them to visit us in FL once a year. And, we fly home from FL to MN about 3 times a winter season. I make sure to see the kids then and my elderly father. Grandkids, argh, hoping for one of those some day. I hear once I have grandkids it will all change!
@Maureen, Ha! It is definitely harder to only see the grandchildren occasionally, especially when they live in different states. They grow and change so fast, technology definitely helps though. (We had 14 within 10 years.)
@Cindy, lucky lucky you!
I loved your refrigerator so much I had to take a screenshot. And a big yes to small houses however corporations are buying up small homes to rent so they are increasingly harder to find.
@Tiana, oh! Bad news for my kids and the next generation on the housing front.
Hi Maureen-great post! Loved that you mentioned Marco Island and Isles of Capri! We are from NJ but have been going to Marco annually since 2008. We love the Island Gypsy!
@BethC, us too! Bit crowded right now so we wander over to Pelican Bend and Capri Fish House.
This was such a fun post! You have what sounds like such a fun and interesting life.
I’m going to check out the link for the mobile home/tiny home too, and add it to my resources. I’m looking for a creative solution to our $3000 a month rent payment!!
@Jem, That’s a tough rent to cover. I feel like there is going to be a big change in the future for housing in the US.
I love seeing this! I also work a remote job so I can be anywhere. I don’t have a partner or even pets at this point in my life, so I don’t have anywhere I’m tied down to. Because of this, I’m looking at moving between places. I currently live with my parents since I graduated college a year ago and am considering traveling abroad for a little while, as my work hours are flexible.
I need to be better about getting rid of more stuff and eating through the dry goods food I have! I like food preservation and I like to be stocked up in case of an emergency (like getting snowed in for 2 weeks which was a regular occurrence in my childhood in the mountains) but there must be a happy medium. This will be important if I live more nomadically and move between places. I’m impressed by the organization and planning!