So Relatable
It's probably obvious after five months without a new post, but my blogging days have trailed off. I could blame the blogosphere itself, which would at this point recoil at being called "the blogosphere." Now, it's a platform, a media package, a sponsored c...

Right Here, Right Now: Summer 2018
It's been a long, strange summer! The blog took a backseat but now that autumn is approaching (in some parts of the world - here in North Carolina, we'll be enjoying beach days until at least October) I hope to have more time to write about living on less a...

This Is 36
Earlier this month, I turned 36. 36 is not a milestone birthday in the traditional sense. I'm not starting a new decade, or reaching a halfway point. I'm just sort of moving along. Growing, I think, and learning, I hope, and becoming more myself than ever b...

Slow Sunday
Here's the thing about getting paid on the last day of the month: the last few days leading up to that paycheck tend to be pretty lean. It's even worse when those days fall on a weekend, which is when most of my spending tends to happen.  Needless to say, t...

Less Like A Mess
I gave myself a deadline to finish a draft of my current novel by the end of summer. By "draft" I mean a thing that starts and ends, with a conflict that makes sense, a conclusion that surprises yet satisfies, language that sings. Something that looks less ...

Three Hundred Words
As usual, I've neglected this blog for weeks on end. It used to be that summer meant a break from drudgery - that I had fewer responsibilities and more time to fritter away in the sunshine. Then I became a grown up, and suddenly summer is busy, busy, busy. ...

How to Get Started with YNAB
Last week marked a special anniversary in our household - we celebrated two years of budgeting bliss with YNAB . This is worth bragging about, because You Need a Budget is more than a app. It's a lifestyle and a way of thinking that completely transformed o...

Right Here, Right Now: Spring 2018
I have a lot of half-finished budget-friendly blog posts in my drafts folder - an intro to YNAB, a review of Republic Wireless, a chicken update, a mediation on the power of plans - but I don't feel like working on any of those today. I have 30 minutes befo...

5 Frugal Things: Spring is Here!
Two Sundays, two blog posts. Maybe this one-new-post-a-week routine will finally stick! In this week's update, we return to an old favorite: five frugal things. Big or small, every choice that keeps a little more cash in my bank account is a win. Here are a...

The Next Big Thing
Most of us are constantly looking ahead, instead of paying attention to what's right in front of us. How many times have you scheduled a trip or an event because you "need something to look forward to?" How often do you count down the minutes until 5pm? How...