Meet a Reader | Stephanie from Texas
Hello, readers! Today we're meeting a Texas reader who has a family habit of making interesting foods with faces. 😉 We can relate over here!
1. Tell us a little about yourself
Hi! I’m 45 and live with my family (husband and four kids) in central Texas.
I stay home and homeschool/cook/manage the household, and my husband works in education.
We have one kid in college, two in high school, and one in junior high. I teach at a homeschool tutorial/co-op while my kids attend classes (helps pay for extracurriculars!).
We eat most meals at home (or packed at home), so we’ve developed fun food traditions over the years.
We enjoy themed foods for any occasion – making Star Wars foods on May 4th, having lembas for Tolkien day, Mario-themed foods for Mario Day, blueberry pancakes on National Blueberry Day, creative gingerbread cookies in December, and of course pie on pi day.
Fun food is an inexpensive way to turn everyday events into celebrations!
2. How long have you been reading The Frugal Girl?
Since 2009. I stumbled upon a ‘how to make yogurt’ post and stuck around.
I already cooked from scratch, but Kristen’s posts motivated me to be more diligent about reducing food waste. Kristen’s bread-baking posts also helped me branch out and try more variety in yeast baking.
3. How did you get interested in saving money?
I am naturally more of a saver than a spender, but I became especially interested in saving money and frugal living when our first child was born. I wanted to stay home indefinitely, so I was determined to cut expenses so that we could live very simply on one income.
I read Miserly Moms and Frugal Families, used coupons back when stores doubled them, upcycled and sewed kids clothing, refinished discarded furniture – whatever would help us make it on one income without debt.
4. What's the "why" behind your money-saving efforts?
As with so many readers, I want to save money in the areas that don’t matter to me in order to spend money where it does matter.
Initially, it was out of necessity/survival, though. We started our married life with no debt and were determined to continue that way. 20+ years later we have more wiggle room, but this is a more expensive season of family life (braces, teen drivers, college, etc.), so we’ve continued the frugal habits.
We love the freedom to give generously to causes that are meaningful to us and we want to help our children begin adulthood debt free. We’d like to travel more, but when you’re in the middle of Texas, getting out of the state is a LONG drive.
5. What's your best frugal win?
No mortgage!
We purchased an outdated home when property values were relatively low and spent a few years renovating it.
We sold it when home values had increased and made enough profit to buy another home in need of updating and repeated the process.
In 2020, after several houses and renovations over a period of nearly 10 years, we were able to purchase a smaller, simple home in a more affordable area that meets our needs and pay for it outright.
It was a lot of hard work, and we don’t miss being in the house-renovation season, but we’re so thankful for the opportunity that season gave us to have no mortgage payment.
Plus, we purchased just outside of the city limits so we have lower property taxes, fewer restrictions, and the freedom to have chickens in our backyard.
On a smaller scale, being able to sew and alter clothing and decor has saved me a ton of money! Thrifted clothing can be altered to fit better, too long curtains can be hemmed, costumes can be created from scraps or bedsheets, and favorite items can be mended. Even basic sewing skills are a great frugal skill!
6. What's a regrettable money mistake you've made?
We spent way too much money on a vacuum from a door-to-door Kirby salesperson years ago. I’m sure the vacuum will last the rest of our lives, but now we mostly have hard floors!
7. What's one thing you splurge on?
Experiences.
As Kristen mentioned in a recent post, money spent in order to spend time with people I care about is so worth it to me. I’m all for packing picnics and going to museums on discount days, but I really value time with friends/family and am willing to spend more to make that happen.
I do tend to be more tight-fisted than my husband, though, so I first try to find ways to have the experience for less. He’d rather just go and enjoy the experience without searching for all the deals and coupon codes and cheapest options.
Sometimes I need to stop trying and just enjoy the time!
8. What's one thing you aren't remotely tempted to splurge on?
Fancy clothes / décor / cosmetics / stuff.
One thing I love about a smaller home is the lack of space to put things. If my closets and cupboard are full, then I don’t need more dishes or board games or clothing. Or I need to clear things out before bringing more in.
We don’t have a basement or usable attic, so that helps control clutter as well. We shop mostly at secondhand stores, so if I get rid of something, it’s likely I spent very little on it to begin with.
9. If $1000 was dropped into your lap today, what would you do with it?
Add it to our septic system fund. We need to replace our 40-year-old septic system and it’s expensive!
10. What's the easiest/hardest part of being frugal?
The hardest part for me is staying content when friends/family live more extravagantly.
I’m so thankful to have some like-minded friends who accompany me to museum discount days and picnics and free library events, but we also have people in our life who live differently (large, beautiful homes, new vehicles, grand vacations, paying for lawn and cleaning services…). Sometimes I have to remind myself of our ‘why’ and remember to be grateful and content.
The easiest part for me is making it work in day-to-day life.
Cooking and eating at home, making do with what we have, game nights at home instead of going out, movies from the library instead of paying for them, hosting friends for dinner instead of meeting at a restaurant – so many of the little things have been habits for so long it doesn’t take much thought or effort anymore.
And an upside of those habits is lots of memories of time spent together doing simple things.
11. Is there anything unique about frugal living in your area?
The cost of living is quite manageable here. Our area has nice parks and local attractions. It’s too hot in the summer to enjoy many of them, but the rest of the year it’s great!
12. What frugal tips have you tried and abandoned?
Homemade laundry detergent. Really not worth the mess and smell and hassle!
(Note from Kristen: ME TOOOOO. My clothes smelled so disgusting after several months of using homemade laundry soap. Nope, nope, nope. Never again.)
13. What is something you wish more people knew?
(Disclaimer – totally just my opinion)
Once our needs are met in an area, having more of that thing doesn’t necessarily increase happiness or contentment. When we have reliable transportation, a fancy new car might be fun initially, but eventually it’s just transportation. When we have a home that provides safety and shelter, a larger house doesn’t give us more safety and shelter.
We can get so caught up in bigger and better and more, but what we already have might be enough if we shift our perspective.
(I acknowledge that I’m approaching that from a first world perspective and have never truly experienced ‘need’ the way much of the world has.)
14. How has reading the Frugal Girl changed you?
Reading the Frugal Girl has made a huge difference in our food waste. We find creative ways to use up leftovers and throw out very little. Plus, we have chickens, so even peels, cores, seeds, and parts we don’t eat get eaten by our hens.
15. Which is your favorite type of post at the Frugal Girl and why?
Five Frugal Things are among my favorite, along with furniture rehabs and new recipes.
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Stephanie, I smiled when I saw you mention Miserly Moms! I remember reading that book. I bet there's a big overlap between Tightwad Gazette readers and Miserly Mom readers. 🙂
The Miserly Moms site is no longer active, but you can see a recent picture of the author here.
I love all the fun cookies you guys make, of course. And I'm curious: what function do your cute homemade chickens serve? Are they doorstops?
You mentioned that it's a long drive out of the middle of Texas, and I wondered: is it also a long drive to an airport? Air travel can be pricy with a family of six, though, so I can understand why you might not do a lot of flying at this stage of life.
I admire your home renovation success! All that done with little kids around too- what a triumph! We bought a smaller house that needed some love, and we've stayed because we'd only be able to afford another fixer-upper. I do not have the energy to face that anymore!
It's fun having kids at such different stages all at the same time, isn't it? Do your older children act as second parents to the youngest one?
@mbmom11,
Yes! The variety of stages is great. The youngest gets so weary of being parented by siblings. :- ) But I think their intentions are often kind.
#13- I GET that and appreciate your POV! This is the point of contention with the husband and I.. I don't NEED a newer vehicle-I need a vehicle I step up into- smaller, lower seated vehicles are a No for my back and joints, but other than that I am content as long as it runs and we can get where we go.. He prefers and desires a fresh starts every few years...
Nice to meet you, Stephanie. I agree so much about the homemade laundry soap. Nope. Never again. I love the cookies, too.
Love the food!
I am nodding right along with you on deliberately choosing a smaller, older home in a lower tax area, with sewing, and your philosophy on cars and stuff. So nice to meet you!
Stephanie,
I love that your family home renovated yourselves into a paid for home that you are happy to own and occupy.
I also agree with your point that enough is enough.
Stephanie, I give you high praise for being able to live in the homes you've renovated while you were actually doing the work. Even though my DH was a contractor for much of his working life and did several major projects in our home (notably a complete kitchen redo), I had to vacate the premises while some of these were going on!
I also enjoy all your "food faces," and I send sympathies on your Texas summer heat. My brother's reports from Arizona have been similar.
I love all the fun food ideas! I also really appreciate your opinion on nicer/newer/bigger things not increasing happiness if the need is already met. I think I feel the same way, but never thought to put it like that. For example, my car is getting old, but it (mostly) meets our needs. I'm happy that it runs well and drives nicely on snow and ice. However, my kids are outgrowing my sedan. Plus, my son's tuba doesn't fit in the trunk or front seat. It only fits in the back *if* I take out the car seat. So eventually the work around will get annoying.
Welcome Stephanie!
I love, love the cookies and the face foods. They really made me smile.
My husband and I built a smaller home when we couldn't find one to buy and badly needed to get out of our mobile home. At the exact same time, my good friend and her husband were building a home almost double the size of ours, for the same size family. There was some unspoken pressure there to build bigger, and a couple of co-workers even warned me that we would regret not building a bigger house. Well, they were wrong! I really connected with your #10 and #13.
I also connect with the heat, sadly. I hope it's over soon!
It's nice to meet you! Great point about how more than enough doesn't necessarily increase our contentment. Our neighborhood is going through a big change and all the new homes are HUGE-- I haven't ever really struggled with contentment before, so this was a timely reminder. Thank you!
"Enough" is a big part of my why, I have come to realize. It dovetails so nicely with contentment, as well. It doesn't mean there aren't things we need, but it helps temper those desires.
Anyway. Thanks for writing. 🙂
I ran across this piece in one of our new Nebraska media outlets this morning and thought it was worth a share for this frugal community: https://flatwaterfreepress.org/lincoln-family-gives-a-new-life-to-an-old-table-and-much-more/
@Karen., Thanks for sharing this wonderful article about two lovely families. Yes, an "old table and much (much) more."
@Karen., Thanks for sharing this article. It brought me to both tears and smiles. My parents' story mirrors that of the table's original owners and I worked hard to re-home their many possessions. It was important to me to sell/give things to people who needed or would cherish them and in turn, lessen their impact on the county landfill. It was an emotional, tiring journey because unlike the table's new owners(who made me smile and give me hope!), there simply aren't enough people who want someone else's "junk."
@Karen., wonderful article. Something about your comment and this article causes me to wonder if you are the writer/owner of "Gazette. This Prairie Life". If yes, I particularly loved your post "A hundred prairie things I love." If no, you probably will enjoy the blog.
(My clue was the period after your name . . . call me "Nancy Drew".)
@Karen., Thanks so much for sharing the article. It describes the "why" so many of the readers here buy "previously loved" items. Frugal and environmental concerns.
@Bobi, Thank you for making the extra effort to re-home your parents household items during your grief.
My Mom passed in March 2022. At the time, she lived in a one bedroom apartment. It is so difficult to be grieving and yet clear out a loved ones home at the same time.
I live out of state and could only take what fit in my car. Calls went out to family and friends to take what they wanted. We didn't have time to sell items, and the grandchildren "don't want Oma's old stuff" even if it is mint condition mid-century modern.
I called the local Habitat for Humanity Restore to pick up all the good furniture, making sure to let the store manager know to contact the antique dealers they work with to get top dollar. Mom would gave been happy that her possessions were going to help families in need. It was comforting to know that many things continued their usefulness instead of going to a landfill.
@Central Calif. Artist, oh yes, that's totally me. 🙂 I'm so glad you like it. I love mountains and forests, but the wide-open prairie is home. Thank you so much.
I'm cooking a post about county fair by the numbers, but I better hurry up or state fair is going to be here before I get it done. Story of my life, lol.
I laughed out loud at the idea of you literally flushing your 1000.00 down the toilet, especially because if I had an extra thousand, I'd probably spend it on plumbing too...our frugal, responsible lives are so very glamorous. 😉
@Becca, Well, a functioning septic system is much more glamorous than the opposite.
@Becca,
So true. Our septic replacement quotes have come back in the range of $12,000-$17,000, so we'll be flushing a lot of cash!!
Our county allows a homeowner to take a test that lets them install leech lines on an existing septic system. If you and your family (and friends) can physicallly do the work you can rent a trencher and buy the piping yourself. We did it and we spent less than $1000 and 2 full days of work. Good luck
Hello Stephanie from another Stephanie! I used to live in Texas in the nineties but since we are both teachers we moved elsewhere to be able to better enjoy summers off. MICHIGAN. Perfect summers!
Nice to meet you! I also LOVE five frugal thing posts.
Nice to read your story, Stephanie! I’m confused, though, about why a vacuum cleaner would not be useful on hardwood floors. I grew up with hardwood floors and have always had them in my homes. I use a vacuum cleaner on the hardwood floors all the time! In fact, I never sweep and often wonder why people sweep floors instead if vacuuming!?
@Monica,
Good point, the vacuum does work well on the hard floors but ours is so loud! I have a little robotic vacuum that works wonders so I let that run instead. :- )
@Monica, yes! vacuum hardwood floors, daily! especially with pets…..oh the hair that is shed even with labradors (short hair)
@Monica, Depending on the model, the rollers or beaters of a vacuum might harm a wooden floor.
Stephanie-- Love the designer foods!
@Stephanie, I wear earplugs when I vacuum. We have an Oreck, and it is deafening, so I only use it on the throw rugs.
Loved your story! Everything about it 🙂
We live at the SW end of Florida (Naples) on the Gulf of Mexico...and it takes a full day to get out of the state! If we turn left, through the panhandle, it is even longer and we even change time zones 🙂
Thanks for sharing your story...
@Jane in FL,
I also live in Texas, and thought you all out-of-staters may enjoy these two old poems about driving in the Lone Star State:
The sun has riz,
The sun has set,
And here we is
In Texas yet!
---
Oh, the distances in Texas aren't so very far.
We've driven from border to border and only wore out one car!
@Fru-gal Lisa, fun!!
@Fru-gal Lisa, lol. Yes, that is accurate. I live in the Panhandle. So it's not quite as long to get to another state.
Stephanie, I really enjoyed your post. I especially enjoyed how your pictures highlighted your many talents. And I'm in total agreement on the importance of keeping "enough" in perspective. Thanks for giving us a glimpse into your life. Stay cool!
Nice to meet you! My hat’s off to your fortitude. Living in a renovation project is not for the faint of heart. We should form a new kind of pro woman club for not buying into the makeup/fashion ads. Their premises are wrong and their products are over priced. As a sewista myself, I have to commend a sense of humor. I bought a book of “no waste” patterns recently that look like lunatic outfits, even on professional models. But failed sewing projects can become something else. A terrible fitting striped scrap skirt became a terrific laundry bag. Enjoy cooler weather in the coming season.
I love your fun food! I wish I was that creative.
Your point on enough being enough really resonated with me. I wish I’d realised that earlier but better late than never!
I enjoyed "meeting" you, Stephanie and reading your post!
When we had chickens, we had much less food waste. They are wonderful scavengers! Now, a lot of our waste goes into the compost pile, which is also good, but doesn't encompass nearly the variety that chickens did!
I need to do better at following through with using up leftovers and cleaning out my freezer.
We can't have chuckens now because of my job (biosecurity issues) and that makes me very sad!
We also buy older cars...our newest car since we married 30 years ago, was 11 years old when we bought it, and I felt like I was driving a new vehicle!
Thanks for sharing!
I agree that you deserve extra special credit for doing renovations while living in the homes, multiple times (& with kids).. We too scraped loooots of badly-applied wallpaper and that was enough for me (can't imagine those repetitive motions overhead with popcorn ceilings!). Love the results with your bright rooms!
And PS, I almost wish all these FG readers weren't such talented cooks & bakers; I'm always looking to nosh on something after I see the great treats...
Mondays are a day to get hungry! lol
The cost of new septic systems is a shock, that's for sure. And they are such a mess to install.
I enjoyed reading about your lifestyle--we also tend to value experiences over possessions and have done similar money-saving techniques to make that happen. We have one in college and one in high school and I can relate to this being an expensive stage of life (although you have twice as many kids as I do!). Thanks for letting us get to know you better. 🙂
so nice to meet you. love your photos of food. i am a dunce as a cook but i clean the kitchen pretty well. all your photos are beautiful. i am going to get miserly moms the book if it is in my library. i subscribed to tighwad gazette but never heard of miserly moms.
it is rough on my 14 yr old and 12 yr old that we have not gone anywhere this summer. but they have been to disneyworld twice and atlantis once. hopefully when hubby gets a job we can travel more. all the best to you and your family from me and mine.
Loved hearing about your home renovations! I wondered how it felt to say "It's done, it's my favorite," only to sell the house and start over. (I'm speaking as a person who bought an impossible house built in 1890 and who finally moved into a "newer" 1960s ranch house!) Also, that Kirby vacuum -- I'm an antiquer, and I've seen those vacuums as old as the 1950s sell for hundreds of dollars. You have an investment vacuum cleaner that will probably eventually sell for more than you paid for it! Thank you for sharing your life!
@Jean,
I’m so glad to know that about Kirby vacuums!
1960’s ranch homes are the best!
I love the creative cookies--especially the wookie gingerbread!
Hi Stephanie. Usually I comment early on Kristen's posts but this one left a bad taste in my mouth. You're one of the moms who has the time and energy to make cutesy desserts for your children, unlike me ever, so I decided not to comment. But then I realized this is simply unfair. Why shouldn't you be proud of your cute baked goods? I'm sure your children will treasure those memories. We all have different talents to offer our families, don't we? And that's fantastic. Rock on, sister.
Having just traveled the breadth of Texas, I can testify it is a LONG trip.
It's so refreshing to meet someone else who's done extensive remodeling on their homes. We were the same way, remodeling our way up to bigger and better homes until we retired.
Nothing is more satisfying than being mortgage free. Congrats, Stephanie! You did good.
Thank you for your story. My husband and I just retired and we live simply too. Did that all our married lives especially when our 2 kids came. I remember being extremely jealous of a neighbor who had just bought a brand new mini-van.
Keep up the great work and it will pay you back in so many ways, especially when you retire.
Stephanie, that was fun...sounds like your life is what you've made it -- interesting and a bit quirky. I enjoyed learning more about you and your family!
We are in the process of trying to find that 'smaller home,' after doing just what you did -- fixing up and selling two other homes. Then we moved into a fifth wheel, and parked on a friend's ranch. After four-plus years of "caretaking" for him, it's time to find our own place. But that's not easy in Colorado.
I'm betting the chickens are pincushions! Here's the pattern:
https://www.favecrafts.com/Sewing/Chicken-Pincushion-Pattern
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for letting us peek into your life.
1. Your sunflower photo is beautiful.
2. I always suspected that "Texas Bluebonnets" were in the lupine family and after seeing your photo, I know it to be a fact.
3. I am so impressed with your house renovating and moving and saving; moving is a nightmare, and yet you did it multiple times with 4 offspring.
4. Your #13 doesn't sound like a "first world perspective" to me; it sounds practical and unusual (except for here in Frugal Land).
5. May I have a cookie, please?
I love all the fun you have with food…and that it seems like your kids are still into it as teens! Great tradition!
Hi Stephanie!
Nice to meet you and thanks for sharing!
I love your artistry expressed through your cooking! Shows lots of creativity and love.
And the heat in your part of Texas, oh my...
Stephanie, I agree that less can be more when it comes to homes, cars, and stuff! We were only given a certain amount by the lending bank when we were building our home. We built within our budget, giving up some of the space and ammenities we had originally planned. Our neighbors, however, were given what seemed an unlimited budget by their lender (even though our salaries were similar) and they built a MUCH larger home. Now that our 2 children are adults and out of the home, I am so thankful for our smaller, more manageable, and almost paid off home. The limited space also kept us from buying beyond what would fit in our home, which meant less stuff to manage and care for. We have enough space to have guests over now, and the financial freedom to take vacations and do fun things and help our girls out if they need it. Contentment takes daily practice, especially with social media and the constant bombarding from online retailers, but when you find it, there is peace and more time to spend doing what you love and with whom you love. 🙂
I adore the Star Wars themed foods, especially the Wookie cookies! Thank you for sharing!