Frugal is the New Black

I have subscriptions to a number of magazines (thanks to my Mom and Grandma and to free offers), and this year I have noticed an increasing number of articles on saving money. This month, I kid you not, every single magazine included at least one major article on frugality. This includes In Style, which is not exactly known for promoting a thrifty lifestyle! For some, it was even the featured topic of the issue, like the Woman's Day I received yesterday. It really is chic to be frugal!

For your interest, here are some of the articles that I thought were particularly worthwhile:

From Real Simple, this article gives ideas on how to say in all different areas of your life. Some of the tips are no-brainers; others will probably really get you thinking of doing something different. Also from Real Simple, read here about saving money on energy costs.

These 101 tips from Parenting each link to other articles. Lots of good info.

I liked this one from Woman's Day, because it showed how eating on a budget can still be healthy. The recipes look practical, too, not full of exotic (expensive!) ingredients.

And finally, of all the articles I read, this one was my favorite. Not necessarily because the strategies the author used were so ground-breaking, but because the article demonstrated how the frugal lifestyle really comes down to a change in thinking. As the author wrote,

"What I realized, however (much to my husband’s delight), is that it isn’t that difficult to achieve some savings. Best of all, we didn’t really give up anything in the process—we just found new ways to get to the same end. I will continue to look for the small savings, losing my “whatever” attitude and replacing it with “wherever.” As in, wherever we can save, we will."