21st Century Frugal

Not All Spending is Bad! Here Are 5 Examples When you fully embrace frugal living, that means curbing your spending. That's just part of the process of eliminating debt, building savings, and living within a budget. Doing those has helped me immensely, and if I can motivate others away from mindless spending and debt, I will be a very happy blogger. That said, I don't think that all spending is bad. Some spending is healthy and important. Here are five examples of that. 1. Safety Equipment Anything that keeps you and your family safe is a worthwhile investment. This isn't a spending category that deserves to be skipped over or treated like an afterthought. This is a broad category but it includes: Bike helmets Safety goggles for DIY projects New car seats Smoke and CO detectors Don't go without these. Buy good quality items. Replace them when they wear out. This also includes supplies to keep you going in case of an emergency. It's worth keeping flashlights, candles

Expense Tracking: Let's Get Started! Welcome! This is my first post, but I've been doing the frugality thing for awhile. As I was brainstorming frugal topic ideas, I remembered that the first step I took in my journey was simply learning to track my expenses. It's something I found immensely helpful, and I hope you will too! Why Track Your Expenses If your finances are in trouble, you need a clear picture of your current situation before you can fix your problems. Think of financial woes as the disease. Expense tracking is like the diagnostic tool that allows you to pinpoint right where things are going wrong. It's an x-ray of your finances. No Judgment: Just The Facts When you start tracking your expenses, you may find some things that make you feel guilty or even foolish. Don't let the process get you down. You are taking an important step to getting control over your finances. You should be proud of that. How to Track Your Expenses Choose Your Methods There are a