Photo courtesy of Katie Dureault 

My family has been on a mission to reduce our spending, pay off remaining school debts, and build a giant emergency fund for well over a year now.  For much of that time I’ve been chronicling that journey at Frugal Dad.  One question I am typically asked by readers, and media types, is if I started Frugal Dad to make myself more accountable.  Honestly, that wasn’t one of the primary reasons, but I think writing every day about being a better steward of money has made it easier for me to bypass impulse spending opportunities.

Finding Contentment, Not Resentment

Over time it is difficult not to grow a little resentful of your reduced spending plan.  You do not have to look far to find someone who by all appearances is doing better than you.  It is hard to see neighbors hauling in new furniture, or a plasma television, or driving home a new car, and not think, “I wish I could afford to do that, too.”  This past year it seems like everyone I know has taken a great vacation.  We haven’t taken a vacation in over a year now, and frankly we could use the break.  But, we stayed home this summer to keep plugging away towards the goal of cleaning up our finances once and for all.  We are content to pass on life’s luxuries for now while we focus on living with only life’s necessities (with some occasional fun stuff mixed in, too). 

Developing Frugal Habits

Like any new habit, frugal living takes a little time to become routine.  It’s not like you wake up one morning and completely undo all the years of being a mega-consumer.  And even when you do get all that emotional spending out of your system there times of relapse.  Something shiny may catch your eye like a kid in the toy store.  It might be a new tool that you just have to buy, or maybe the object of your spending desire is a new pair of shoes that you have been wanting forever, and they only have one left in your size.  Learning to recognize those moments, and still make a frugal choice, is what separates the “men from the boys,” financially.

I still occasionally have my moments, but for the most part I am fairly content with what I have.  Sure, my vehicle could use an upgrade, but it runs well and gets me from A to B.  A few pieces of furniture around our house are broken, or badly worn, and should probably be replaced.  However, we are content to “let things ride” for the time being, while we focus our efforts on other financial goals. 

So to answer my own question, yes, over time it does get easier to spend less money.  At least, it gets easier to buy less things.  With the way prices have recently inflated it is still tough to spend less money!

Photo courtesy of robsmith-qld

When you think about it, eggs themselves are a pretty frugal food.  They are just about the cheapest form of natural protein available, and are the primary ingredient in nearly every made-from-scratch recipe.  We go through a lot of eggs in our household–boiled eggs, scrambled eggs for breakfast (and occasionally, dinner), deviled eggs, etc.  Instead of tossing the empty cartons I began hunting different ways we could reuse them.  Here are a few ideas:

• Use an empty egg carton to ship breakables.   If you are selling on eBay, egg cartons are a great thing to keep around as they offer protection to small, breakable items.  If the item is especially small, and you don’t want to pay extra for shipping a rectangular container, cut four compartments from the bottom and roughly the same-sized square from the top, clam shell them together over your breakable and place in a small box, or wrap with tape and brown paper.  Since egg cartons are light weight they won’t add much to your shipping bill.

• Start seedlings in egg carton bottoms.  A little soil leveled off in the bottom of an egg carton makes the perfect area for starting a seedling.  Later, you can transfer the dirt and root bulb to your square foot garden!

• Make extra ice for coolers.  Need some extra ice to ice down the cooler?  Cut the bottoms on an egg carton and fill with water.  Place them in the freezer overnight and slide out the ice “cubes” in the morning to ice down your favorite beverages.  Note, give them a good cleaning if you plan to use the ice in drinks–wouldn’t want any egg leftovers in there.

• Organize washers, nuts and screws.  I hate putting together store-bought furniture because it usually comes with instructions no one can understand and a huge plastic pack of screws, washers, etc. that all look alike.  Save some leftover egg carton bottoms to sort and organize these items during your next DIY bookcase project.

• Make fire starter briquettes.  Looking for a good use for a pile of sawdust from your latest home improvement project?  Melt some wax in a big pot, mix in a little sawdust, and pour the wax into the bottom of an egg carton.  When the wax cools you are left with little fire starter cakes that are great to take along camping, or use in the backyard fire pit.

• Change sorter for yard sales.  Why buy an expensive cash box with separated compartments just to hold loose change?  For your next yard sale, hang on to an empty egg carton bottom and use it to make change. This is also a fun way for kids to learn to separate their coins.  Cut out a four-compartment section of the egg carton bottom to separate pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.  Let the kids decorate their “egg banks” to add a personal touch.

*Got some old milk jugs sitting around, too?  Check out 12 Household Uses for Empty Plastic Containers

Do you have any other tips to share for reusing egg cartons?

This post originally ran on March 20, 2008 (under a different title), but since I only had a couple hundred readers to share it with at the time I thought I would run it again.  I’ve also had a few people ask about how to live today on only one income, so it seems this is something more people are considering.  As you will read below, it can be done, but not without some sacrifice.

Nearly a full year into our marriage we found out my wife was expecting our first child. Since my wife relocated when we married it meant a job change for her, and for the first couple months we were married she struggled to find a job comparable to the one she left. She had only been working a few months when we found out she was pregnant. I remember the range of emotions I felt as a “soon-to-be-dad” - excitement, joy, and sheer terror! Not only did I have the normal doubts about my parenting ability, as any new parents would have, but I also wondered how we would manage on one just one income. Before marriage my wife and I agreed she would stay home with our kids, at least until they were school age.

Unfortunately, in hindsight I realize we failed to put in enough planning for this drop to a single income. I was low on the totem pole in my career, and was barely earning enough to take care of myself when we married. My wife’s added income made us comfortable, but we were not savers by nature, so any gains we made were squandered on newlywed purchases - a new car, new clothes, things around the house, etc. We should have been piling up cash like crazy in anticipation of her departure from full-time employment (well, paid full-time employment - being a mom is a full-time job!).

At five months pregnant my wife came home because the stress of her job was taking a toll. The last trimester of her pregnancy was difficult, as was the delivery (in fact, I almost lost both my wife and daughter that day). After an emergency cesarean delivery and a long recovery for mom and baby (neonatal ICU for daughter, long hospital stay for mom and daughter) we finally came home nearly a week after my daughter was born. It was an emotionally taxing time for everyone involved, and the last thing I wanted to think about was money. We spent the next few years spoiling our little girl, paying minimums on medical bills, eating out frequently, traveling to see the in-laws, and spending all of my salary (and then some). That salary didn’t change much those first few years as my company had maxed out growth and even began rounds of layoffs. Fortunately, I avoided getting a pink slip, but went two or three years in a row with no raise and no chance of promotion.

We finally broke out of the mess when I took a new job in a new industry and relocated, but the damage was done. We now owed credit cards, medical debts and left over student loans from my first two years of college. My wife was now expecting our second child, around the time our first child was heading to school full time. It was clear my wife wouldn’t be returning to the workforce anytime soon, and we would have to continue living on one income. It was a sobering wake up call, financially.

With the benefit of 10 years of hindsight, I offer these tips for one-income families (or those considering a move to become a one-income family):

• Before making the move, pay off debts and stack up some cash. If we had it to do over again we would have made a stronger push to be debt free before my wife quit working, and we would have had a sizable emergency fund that could have helped with the labor and delivery expenses, and future emergencies thereafter.

• Stay away from new cars. Car dealers love new parents because they can usually sell them on safety, added space, and “convenience” features. Don’t be fooled. There are plenty of safe, roomy, convenient options in the used car market. Remember, you are living on one income - you can’t afford a new car!

• Do not underestimate expenses for the stay-home parent. With someone occupying the house more hours of the day, utilities will likely increase. It is no longer feasible to set the temperature to 80 in the summer and 60 in the winter during the day. The family pet will appreciate the gesture, but you will pay for it when the energy bills arrive. While employment expenses obviously decline, other expenses do go up.

• Do not attempt to keep up with two-income families. We made this mistake because several of our friends were two-income families, and they frequently bought new cars, new homes, new furniture, etc. We tried to keep up initially, but eventually realized they had more disposable income than we did and we had to adjust down.

• As a stay-home mom or dad, look for ways to be a “home economist.” Cook meals from scratch, clip coupons, make homemade crafts, or even start a garden. In other words, look for ways to save money that you probably wouldn’t have time for if working a full-time job.

Being a full-time parent can be a rewarding experience, for both the parent and their children. However, it does not come without sacrifice. Plan accordingly so you can enjoy the process, instead of resenting it because you are struggling with money.

The following guest post is from Trent Hamm of The Simple Dollar.

I’ve been a fan of Frugal Dad for quite a while. This site offers a tremendous amount of specific and smart advice on how to reduce your spending and get a strong financial foothold. It’s advice that everyone can use and apply to their lives.

Sometimes, though, it just isn’t enough.

I have a friend named Max that I’ve known since I was a little boy playing in the sandbox. Max is a single father with two children - his partner basically left him holding the bag. He only has a high school education, and he made several poor choices after high school (drug use, mostly) that left him with a poor local reputation, a poor credit history, and a small criminal record.

Since those days, Max has cleaned himself up, taken responsibility for his two girls as a single father, and found them a comfortable place to live. But, given his past, he doesn’t have many opportunities for individual achievement - many people balk when they see his record and don’t bother to give him a second chance. He currently works at a minimum wage job in a paper factory, taking every overtime hour he can get, and also mows lawns when he can. Even after working physical labor sixty hours a week, he still comes home and tries to be a good parent to his daughters, one of which has a learning disability.

To put it simply, when you add up the cost of transportation to and from work (a fifteen minute commute each way), housing, the food needed for him and his family, clothing, and a few little things for his daughters, Max doesn’t have any money left over at the end of the day. He does everything he can to scrimp and save - he shops for groceries at Aldi, buys most of his clothes and his kid’s clothes at yard sales, and doesn’t even have cable or a cell phone.

But, sometimes, it just isn’t enough. He’s come very close to having his power turned off - the power company doesn’t tolerate him being late even a day on his bill because of his poor credit history and personal record. When his car breaks down, there’s no emergency fund he can tap.

For Max, frugality has been stretched to the limit, and it’s just barely enough to keep his mouth above water.

As bad as the situation sounds, though, it’s not hopeless for Max. He’s trying several things right now that may help him escape the precariousness of his situation. Here are seven tactics that he’s using - and that anyone in a similar situation can use to help themselves.

Repair and strengthen relationships with family and friends  Your family and friends are the best people to turn to in a pinch - but many people in a pinch, instead of reaching out to those around them, tend to withdraw, ashamed of the troubles they’re having. Don’t. Everyone has difficult times in their lives, and it’s those people around you who will help you through those situations, no questions asked. As Max repairs his relationships with family and friends, they reach out to him, offering to help him watch his kids as he mows yards and so on, in order to help him get his feet firmly on the ground.

Build relationships with community leaders It seems somewhat cliche to say, but small business owners and community leaders are often the people who will be the first to reach out to others that are clearly trying to better themselves, taking a chance on those who are obviously working hard and committed to their families. Max looks for opportunities to do this through his business (lawn care) and through community events - he’ll be the first to show up and try to help out with community activities and so on. This has already paid off - one individual has helped him out by giving him a good place to live with extremely low rent. He has hopes that another may be able to offer him a solid job in the future.

Get involved in community groups, such as churches, clubs, and volunteer boards So how do you get started building these relationships with people in the community? You can start by going to places where people congregate for positive purposes - churches, civic organizations, or community volunteer groups. Join a local church, start attending services, listen to the overall message (and don’t get bogged down in the specifics), and meet people who are involved. Go to some community activities. Whenever you hear about an opportunity to volunteer, jump on board when you can. You’ll meet people who will provide you with help, support, and opportunities all the time if you’re willing to put your time and effort out there to help others. If you want to turn your ship around, this is the way to fill your free time.

Start your own initiatives for earning money Look for ways to earn money on the side. Do you have any particular talents that can be put to work on your own, like fixing computers? Even if you don’t, you can still start up a simple initiative, like low-cost lawn care for people nearby. Filling your spare time with flexible work like this not only puts more money in your pocket, but gives you something you control, one where you’re not necessarily judged by the mistakes of your path, but by the quality of work you can produce now.

Realize that, if you have strikes against you, you will have to work extra hard to win people over This is simply a fact of life. Many mistakes in life can’t be undone, and they often follow you wherever you go. Instead of beating yourself over the head with them, feeling guilty and descending into self-pity and blaming others, just realize that it’s still up to you whether or not you succeed, but that you’ll just have to work extra hard to get ahead. Look at your past mistake as a challenge to live up to, not an excuse to give up.

When great short-term opportunities come along, take advantage of them - and don’t squander the proceeds Sometimes, life hands us opportunities: a job offer, a ridiculous deal, a quick task that can earn some quick money, an inheritance, or a gift. Don’t let these opportunities slip by - jump on board every one that you can get. Then, when it’s over, don’t just blow your windfall in celebration - feel proud, but put that money to work for you in an emergency fund or in paying off debt. The fun comes in not worrying as much about that big debt load or about what happens the next time the car breaks down - your celebration should culminate in lasting peace of mind.

Don’t let go of your frugality if things start to turn around If you’re persistent and keep scrapping to get ahead without giving up, eventually you will start to break through a bit. That’s not the time to let go of your frugal habits - don’t breathe a sigh of relief and go buy an iPhone. Instead, keep your diligence and start building up a healthy surplus. Pay off all your debts. Build up an emergency fund. Start saving for your long term future (retirement, college for your kids, and so on). Once those are taken care of, then you can look at some personally enjoyable options, but even when that happens, never forget that it was frugality that helped make this path possible for you.

The following is a guest post from Bob.  Bob shares his thoughts on Christian Personal Finances at his blog,  ChristianPF.com.

Alright, I can’t guarantee that she will “love” all of them, I mean what kind of guy would I be if I completely understood women?  But, I am sure that she will at least love some of them, depending on the type of lady you have.

By “date” I am referring to anything you can do alone for a couple hours with your wife/girlfriend. If you have kids, you might just have to bite the bullet and pay a sitter for a couple of hours, but at least the date itself can be free!

I have found that creativity is often the source of the most fun and it doesn’t cost a thing! On the other hand you can often spend a lot of money doing the same-old-thing and not have any fun. These are a few ideas that have worked for us.

1. Have a photo shoot | FREE

Grab your digital camera and start driving around town together and stop at scenic locations and start taking pictures of each other. Be goofy. Be creative - think like an artist, don’t just take the same old fake smile centered pictures. Get out of the box and take some weird pictures! Take 100-200 pictures and go home, download Picasa, pick your favorites and stretch your creative muscles even more by adding various effects to each picture.

2. Have a movie marathon | FREE - $5.00

Of course the library is great for books, but most libraries now have an extensive selection of DVD’s as well. Go pick out a few of your old favorites, or sign up for a starter plan at Netflix, then swing by the grocery store and pick up your favorite snacks. Turn off the lights, grab a blanket and cozy up for a night in the great indoors.

3. Go house shopping | FREE

Even if you aren’t in the market for a new house, just go browse anyway. There is just something fun about the home-browsing process. Pick a developing area and check out a few of the display homes. Make a list together of the things you like and don’t. This is also a great way to get some design ideas and to find layouts that you may want in the future.

4. Go play a sport together | FREE

Play basketball, tennis, soccer, catch, ride bikes together, rollerblade, or anything else. It is fun, you get to breathe some fresh air, and most of them are great exercise as well. How is that for multi-tasking?

5. Plan a vacation | FREE

As I write this I am counting the days to my next vacation. You could almost argue that the anticipation up to a vacation provides as much enjoyment as the vacation itself. So why not start planning one? Even if it will be two years away, it is still something to look forward to and will get here sooner than you know it. There are a million vacation related sites to get your brain churning and help you get ideas. Once you figure out where and when, start budgeting for it!

6. Dinner and dancing at home | FREE - $30.00

Make a playlist of your favorite slow songs and let them start playing. You can then cook your favorite meal together, put out some candles, the fine china, and have a relaxing and romantic dinner together. Once dinner is over, leave the dishes until the next day! Slow dance and think about each other like you did when you were dating.

7. Go on a picnic | FREE - $20.00

I can still remember the first picnic I went on with my wife (girlfriend at the time) and it was so fun. I made us her favorite type of sandwich, got her favorite chips and drinks, packed a basket up with food and blanket and we headed to our favorite park. We found a great secluded location right next to a stream that ran through it and threw our blanket down. We ate, relaxed, and talked for a while. We then wandered around the park and I played her a couple songs on my guitar. Guys you may laugh, but girls love it!

8. Play a game together | FREE

Find an old board game in the closet. Scrabble, Checkers, Chess, Yahtzee, Monopoly, or anything else you both enjoy. If you don’t have the boards themselves you can play online.

9. Go camping | FREE - $50.00

One of the reasons I love camping is because all the distractions are (or should be) left behind. You can sit under the stars next to warm campfire and just talk to each other for hours. It is just a great cheap way to break out of the monotony of the daily grind. If you don’t have a tent you can get one for as cheap as $25 at Walmart. Sleeping bags can be as cheap as $10. Pack a cooler and hit the road.

10. Go for a moonlight walk | FREE

If you have a beach near you, I am a little bit jealous, and you should go there - often! If you are an inlander like the rest of us, you just need to find another place. But even a subdivision sidewalk will do. There is something very romantic about walking around at night, especially under the moonlight. Tell your spouse all the things you love about them and walk slowly.