Revamp and Redaeux

The Quintessential Cheapskate is back!  After a rather lengthy hiatus to deal with other projects and "real life", the Quintessential Cheapskate is back on, with more practical tips on saving money in your everyday life.  The blog even has a new tag line: "Because being frugal is cool!"

Check back often for new postings, including ideas on watering house plants, using a wood stove or fireplace, and even help figuring taxes.  We'll also be discussing Christmas spending and the January hangover.

Now that we're back on, it's time to shake up personal finance once again!  Check back soon!

Definitions

This is a rant. These couple of words have been bothering me recently. Seems there's been been some confusion due to the current recession.

1. Stay-at-Home-Parent. This means you have chosen not to work outside the home in order to raise your children. This does not mean you have been laid off from your job and now happen to be home with your kids. Staying home is a choice, a sacrifice you have consciously made. Being unemployed, whether you are home with your kids or not, is just being unemployed.

2. Frugal. Again, a choice. If you are saving money because you have to, for whatever reason, you're not being frugal. You're doing what you have to do to decide. If you have consciously chosen to save money in order to put yourself in a better financial position, then you are being frugal. If you feel you do not have a choice in the matter, you are not being frugal.

The Quintessential Cheapskate

This blog will focus mostly on smart money management, frugality, and money-saving tips. Every now and again I may sprinkle in a rant or two about stupid money moves, like paycheck-advance stores or using a credit card for a night on the town. I know how to get free groceries, household products, or meals out. I get paid to shop. I'm the kind of lady who gets a fifty bucks worth of groceries for $10.

One of the most important things you should know about me is I'm not some guru. I don't write books or give lectures. I don't have gimmicks or corporate sponsors. I'm just a regular person. I'm so regular, if you saw me on the street, you probably wouldn't even remember me afterwards...unless my kids were making a scene (ha, ha...). The point is, I could be your neighbor, or the person behind you at the grocery store.

So why make a whole blog about it and tell the world how everybody can save as much money as I do? The honest truth is, I try to tell this kind of stuff to my friends and family, and nobody listens to me! They can all agree I have some good ideas, but they're all too lazy to implement them! So, if you've read this far, I'm assuming you are at least motivated enough to save some money.

If you're ready to read some great money-saving tips, check back every day. Also, you must know, saving money takes work on your part. Reading something you read online and thinking, "Hey, that's a great idea!" is not going to save you any money. You must work toward goals, implement plans, and have the motivation to spend a little time working toward your goals. If you can dedicate five or ten minutes a day toward saving money, you can save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars per year. I'm living proof!