Meet a Frugal Girl Reader | Sarah G
Part of a new series! This year, I'm stepping aside here and there to let you all meet fellow Frugal Girl readers.
Last week, we got to meet Kristin from Going Country, and today, we get to hear from Sarah G.
1.Tell us a little about yourself
I live in the Midwest, but it's a state that doesn't typically come to mind when folks think of the Midwest!
I've been married 13 years and we have four kids, ages 8 down to 3 months. I just turned 40.
I homeschool my kids and I can't imagine being away from them all day! I used to be a hospital RN before I had children, but I didn't care for it and I am much happier now.
I am a devoted Christian and I really miss our church family/activities right now!
2. How long have you been reading The Frugal Girl?
About ten years! I started reading The Frugal Girl before I had kids- probably 2010 or 2011. At the time there were about four blogs that I followed.
Since that time all the others have fallen to the wayside for different reasons and at this point The Frugal Girl is the only blog I still read! Kristen, I appreciate your blog because it feels authentic, rather than like you are trying to sell something.
3. How did you get interested in saving money?
My interest in frugality actually stems from my interest in social/environmental responsibility, combined with a desire to be debt free.
In my early 20s I began noticing what a wasteful, unconcerned culture we are as a whole (here in the US; can't speak for other countries).
My husband and I didn't want to find ourselves guilty of that mindset, so we decided to try to be more mindful of how we lived. Spending less is a big part of that for us.
4. What's the "why" behind your money-saving efforts?
1) See above. Wanting to live more responsibly, without a wasteful mindset is a huge part of it.
2) As a follower of Christ, I also believe that how I handle my resources (money, time, talents, anything I find myself in stewardship of) is something I have to take seriously. I believe I'm responsible to God for how I handle what I've been entrusted with.
3) I want to have the wherewithal later in life to bless our kids: help with college, help pay for a wedding, etc.
5. What's your best frugal win?
When I decided to go to nursing school after high school, I chose a community college RN program, rather than attending a university. This means I graduated without any student loan debt at all. Yay!
Also when my husband and I got engaged, I was still living with my parents. Since I had almost no expenses, I was able to save all my earnings as a nurse and we were able pay cash for our wedding!
It wasn't a huge bash but it was quietly beautiful, and I love it that we didn't have to put anything on a credit card.
Additionally, after we got married we continued to bank my income, and lived off of just my husband's. After a couple years, we used my saved earnings to pay off all debt that we had (it was primarily just his student loans).
With the exception of our house, we are still debt free, I'm so happy to say.
6. What's a dumb money mistake you've made?
When my husband and I were dating, we spent a LOT of time talking on the phone because we lived about an hour apart. This was in the early 2000s and unlimited minutes weren't exactly a thing.
Somehow I misunderstood the particulars of my cell phone contract (with Cingular!) and I ended up with a $500 phone bill one month. (!!!!)
I tried to get out of it but no dice. I had to fork over the money.
Ouch. My husband has never let me forget that one!
7. What's one thing you splurge on?
I absolutely adore going out to eat. Nothing fancy, but there's something about being seated and selecting from a menu, or at least choosing from a take-out menu.
I do cook, but I would be unhappy to eat every meal at home, so we budget for that. It ends up being a couple hundred dollars every month.
8. What's one thing you aren't remotely tempted to splurge on?
Pricey kids' clothing.
My kids look adorable but almost everything they wear is second-hand. If they do wear something new, it was either a gift or I bought it marked way down.
I can't imagine dressing my kiddos in all new clothes. I'm not finger-pointing at anyone who does, but to me it would feel like so much money to spend.
9. If $1000 was dropped into your lap today, what would you do with it?
Save it for a family vacation. Making memories with my kids is so important to me. I remember the trips we took when I was growing up. They weren't glamorous; we never went to Disney world or anything like that, but they were fun and memorable.
We did take three family trips that I know my parents had to particularly sacrifice for: Mount Rushmore, Washington DC, and Niagara Falls.
I remember those trips now very fondly, and I want to provide the same kinds of experiences for my own children.
One goal of ours is to take a trip to the Grand Canyon in a few years, hopefully.
10. Share a frugal tip with other Frugal Girl readers
I spend the least money when I stay out of stores and delete apps from my phone! If you don't see it, you probably won't buy it.
Also avoid TV (those dreaded commercials!) and social media accounts that exist solely to show you things you "need!"
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Sarah, thanks so much for participating in this series and for sharing all these fun pictures of you and your family. I am loving that this series is letting me put faces with familiar names.
Hi Sarah! I love that photo of your girls on the path with the fall colors. And that your one daughter is walking barefoot. That's like THE capture of carefree childhood.
I turned 38 two months after having my fourth child. I never had a kid when I was really young--my first was born when I was 30--but I definitely felt the difference between having a newborn at 30 and having a newborn at almost-40. 🙂
Yes, I had my first baby at 31 and my last baby three weeks before I turned 40... I definitely felt worse with the last pregnancy!!
I love learning about the folks who follow you. Great addition to the FG lineup.
I'm really enjoying this series! So nice to "meet" new folks on the same type of journey.
I loved reading this post. As a Christian, I too, feel I need to conserve the resources we were given. I want to be aware of my impact on the earth and I want to teach my children to use less and to be content with what we have. Bravo!
I'm loving the series too! It gives a whole new life to the comments section and community as I get a glimpse of others and put stories and faces together. ♥️
Sarah and Kristin @ going county - I'll join you as one of the ladies who started with kids a bit later in life. Married at 30 and boys arrived between my 32nd and 37th years. But my mother had her last surprise at 47, so....
Oh wow, 47! I'm 42 now, and I'm trying to imagine having a baby five years from now. Whoa.
I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum; I had all four of my kids between ages 21 and 27. Pregnancy hit me so hard, I think it's probably a very good thing I had mine when I was young and chipper. Heh.
My mother-in-law had her last at 46. . . My baby (now age 5) was born when I was almost 40. My first was in my later 20s. . .. and WOW! It was so much easier earlier. I would also say I can't even imagine, but I do have a vivid imagination (plus I saw my mother-in-law do it all).
The nice thing about the late pregnancy was all the older siblings. My sisters and I were 18, 15, and 11 and I don't think my mom ever changed a diaper. Plus lots of extra hands to bounce fussy baby...
My mother was always very thankful that the late baby was a good sleeper who would sleep from midnight to 6am every night from the age of 2wks.
(Oh, and my older sister graduated high school the day after the baby arrived...)
Wow 47!! *gasp
Great example of thoughtful, frugal living. You started out right avoiding debt from the get-go. Good for you!
Thank you for continuing this series. I really like hearing from other readers.
This is so enjoyable. I'm loving Sarah G. She parallels your own life.
Nice to meet you, Sarah!
First, I immediately recognized the sweater hanging on the doorknob in the first photo. I have a photo of one of my grandkids in that same sweater. It's a really cute sweater.
Sarah, I admire your decision to start out frugal, when you weren't (I assume) constrained to be. That's a very good way to start out!
I am enjoying getting to meet other commenters here, and I'm looking forward to meeting more.
I love that sweater <3 It was a hand me down, and all three of my girls have worn it!
Hi Sarah! I feel the exact same way about eating out. It is my biggest splurge. I buy my clothes second hand, I bought a small home, I save every way I can (I try, all the time, but I do fail sometimes too!). But I love eating out! I even had my husband promise me before we were married (he is super frugal too) that we could eat at Chick-fil-A once a week, unless we couldn't afford it. Ha! I'm not perfect. I do have a few other indulgences, but together with my husband we keep ourselves in check.
Nice to meet you, Sarah! I'm in total agreement about traveling with your children. We cannot always make it happen but both my husband and I try to make it a priority when we are able to do so. Our children are older than yours, and it gets way more challenging when children become teens/young adults, but we think it is super important. I didn't have this growing up.. We weren't a close family. I wanted to make sure that my children had what I didn't.
Your kids are darling!
Thanks! Yes, being a close family is a huge priority for us!
SO many things from Sarah reminded me of my frugal life! I'm older (almost 60), but the school savings, wedding spending, Faith, etc. all sounded just like our story! I, too have stopped following almost everyone but FG. My children are all grown, married and I became a Nana three times within 7 months in2020! Still love Frugal Girl!
Good to meet you, Sarah G.
Re. comments about being a parent at a later age (I was 41 when our youngest was born): To me, the only thing that's hard about it has been making friends in our tight-knit-already community. I tend to most frequently see the other moms with kids the same age as my kids, but the parents are all 10 years younger than me, so we have sort of a different frame of mind based on experience (not only did they all go to high school together, mostly they don't remember pre-internet, and I remember programming on an Apple IIE, for example).
One of my best friends is more than 10 years younger than me. . . but she was a teenage mom and started having children at almost the exact time I did, so we have so very much in common. I usually forget the age difference until. . . some popular culture topic comes up that reminds me she was in diapers when I was in high school.
Karen,
Me too! I had my kids at 38 and 40 and for a long time, I found it hard to fit in with other moms. We were in different places in our lives and our mindsets were .... different. While I have more "mom friends" now that my kids are teens, I find that I don't feel like I need it as much--maybe because I am working more hours and some of my social needs are met at work? Anyway, hang in there--you may feel alone but there are others of us like you out there.
Sarah G., thanks for sharing your story.
Because I had kids so young, you'd think my friends would all be much older than me. But something funny is that my three best friends are all about 10 years younger than me, with kids whose ages reflect that!
So I understand what you're saying; sometimes I am reminded that they were in grade school when I was in college. Most of the time, though, our huge age gap works out fine.
Enjoying this column. I don't remember when I started reading TFG, but I do know the children were young. They are fast growing up.
I am older. I think I have always been a bit more frugal based on watching my father (parents). I am far more careful than my husband. I can't say I would not always like shiny and new but if an item is still serviceable I won't throw it out.
I enjoy cooking. When we eat out, I either choose something I may not cook at home (fish) or I may find something different and then try to replicate a meal we had out (root vegetable risotto).
Lately our luxury item has been a bi-weekly harvest box of small business products from a local "cooperative"--meats, pastas, sauces, fruits, breads and vegetables and other products to sample. I share it with my daughter. I have found some sauces (sun-dried tomato pesto) that I really like and will try to reproduce it. I never cared for chicken thighs but I have found chicken thighs from a small farm meatier and tastier, worth the price.
Hi Sarah! I can relate a lot to your life & family of little gals:) Wondering if you had any tips on frugally approaching homeschool life & maybe other toy shopping ideas (love the doll find on ebay!) too...thanks!
I've been homeschooling such a short time I don't think I have much advice to offer yet. Kristen is the place to go for that; she's the woman! 🙂
As far as toy shopping, I try to stick to things that are gently used. I feel like one of the most helpful factors in this is that we don't have TV service other than allowing our kids to watch some things on amazon prime, which means that our kids don't see advertisements. Without advertisements, they don't have pre-formed ideas about certain toys that they want. I don't know if that's a possibility for your family but it sure works for us. 🙂
Sounds good--we are on year 3 of homeschooling & learning as we go too:) And yes, we only watch PBS kid shows, so that does help too. Glad to hear of your good ebay doll experience & thanks for replying!
Wow, Sarah, congrats for being so smart about money at such a young age. I wish I had been that smart!
Hey Sarah, you rock!
Nice to meet you, Sarah! I'm totally with you on kids clothes... I really appreciate that other people buy pricey, quality kids clothes so that I can buy it secondhand for a dollar or two. 🙂
I have five kids, 13, 12, 10, 8, 6. When the youngest two were 3 (almost 4) and 5 1/2 we went to the Grand Canyon. It was beautiful, but so stressful to have so many young children there. Constant worry about them falling. Now that the youngest two are 6 1/2 and 8 1/2 I think the trip would be much more enjoyable. Something to consider as you plan your trip.
Sarah, thank you for sharing your story and photos from your life!
I too so much enjoyed hearing about your family Sarah. Pictures are adorable also. Now at 83 yrs. young. ha Memories are so precious as photos. Keep up the good work! God Bless. (HUGS)
Thank you for that
Sarah and I feel the same way about the Frugal Girl blog. I have been reading for 14 years, I think...wow, time flies!! I only read two blogs regularly now and for the exact same reasons. I don't feel like I'm always being pressured to buy something. Your blog is humble and genuine! The other blog I follow is Clover Lane and the reasons are the same, so check it out!
Thanks for sharing! I love that you would spend extra money on family vacations. Same!
"I absolutely adore going out to eat. Nothing fancy, but there’s something about being seated and selecting from a menu, or at least choosing from a take-out menu."
Yessss! I'm the same way.
All my kid's clothes are handmedowns too (or the odd secondhand find), or gifted. He's 2.5 and I suspect it'll be harder to get secondhand as he gets older, though...
What a beautiful family! And I am right there on the eating out -- seriously my favorite!
Sarah, you have a beautiful family! And the way you've prioritized becoming and staying debt-free is admirable. Thanks for sharing!