As the recession drags on I have seen a very subtle shift in the types of web searches that result in visits to Frugal Dad. I’ve always thought watching search trends is a great way to gauge popular opinion – Google must have a field day watching trends considering the data they have available to them.

When the economy started to head south I noticed many people became quite proud of their frugality. Those who were once quietly going about their simple lives were suddenly very happy to share how they saved money, reduced their utilities, rejected new cars and new clothes, etc. Frugal people were suddenly very popular. Just months before, they were laughed at and mocked by those who thought frugal people were alarmists, or too conservative, or somehow less intelligent or sophisticated than wealthy people.

On the opposite extreme there were plenty of people still doing quite well, and living in a bit of denial that we were headed towards a recession. To prove their solvency to the world they continued to spend shamelessly buying fancy cars, high-end clothing and big homes. And in an instant, the roles were reversed.

Stories began appearing about people being ashamed of their affluent spending habits. Designer stores were putting purchases in non-descript bags so patrons wouldn’t stand out. No longer was it “cool” to show off a designer label, or a high-end store bag, in public. Sales at most retailers plummeted, except those stores offering extreme discounts to customers such as Wal-mart and Dollar General.

A few months into the recession the media started to slowly turn on us frugalists. Were we responsible for the lack of recovery? Were we to blame for the lack of sales, and the avoidance of debt? Many of us, myself included, refused to accept that excessive spending and running household deficits was a reflection of our patriotism. In fact, it was quite the opposite. We felt it was time for everyone to reign in the wild spending of the last several years.

As a result, some started to feel ashamed over their frugality. And that trend continues today, as many land here at Frugal Dad while searching terms related to “ashamed to be frugal.” Funny how two extremes with the same line of thinking can take vastly different approaches. At least half the “extremely frugal” people I meet proudly proclaim their thrift, eager to tell how much they paid for everything, and how much you could have saved if you asked them before buying. The other half seem almost afraid to admit they shop at the thrift store, or drive a beat up car.

I believe the struggle is compounded by the media, who often go to great lengths to project people leading a simple life as weird, or extremists, while building up the idea that everyone is rich, no one has to work, and 16 year-olds deserve $10,000 birthday parties and new cars. That is simply not reality, but it is certainly the perception of some who believe everything they see on television. And it is this perception that causes people to reject a natural tendency towards simplicity, and instead pile on as many goodies and gadgets they can while accumulating more and more debt.

So do not be ashamed to be frugal. Wear your frugality as a badge. Be proud of driving a clunker, and wearing everyday clothing, and living in a modest home.

Last week I mentioned that I was reading the book Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream, by Adam Shepard. The book chronicles the real-life journey of Shepard, who upon finishing college turned over all his worldly possessions to his brother, and began a social experiment of his own. Armed with only $25 and a mostly empty gym bag, he hit the streets of Charleston, SC to try to make it out of poverty in one year or less.

In the first 25 pages of the book you are instantly reminded of what it is like to have nothing but the clothes on your back. Actually, I shouldn’t say “reminded” because many of us have never experienced that feeling before. I’m not talking about being down and out for a few weeks, or struggling to make ends meet, I’m talking about having absolutely nothing. No car, no home, no job, no money, no food, no health care, and no network of friends to help. And from this Shepard was to rise to the ranks for the fully employed, find a place to live and sock away a respectable about of money in savings.

Besides an engaging look at what it’s really like to be homeless in America, Scratch Beginnings made me aware of a couple things that I had forgotten since becoming accustomed to a steady paycheck and having all of my basic needs met without giving it much thought. There are many people out there wondering where they will get their next meal, or their next job, or their next opportunity for work. This is especially true in this time of prolonged recession with many people finding themselves unemployed.

Shepard describes his first big win after a day of hard labor netted him $28.61. Combined with the whopping $20.27 he had left over from his $25 starter fund, this left him with $48.88 to start building a personal supply of basic items.

From the book:

Before heading to her home on the north side of town, Cicely dropped me off up the street from the EasyLabor at Family Dollar, where I made my money count. All of it. I bought six pairs of underwear, a six-pack of socks, six white undershirts, a stick of deodorant, a toothbrush, an eight-pack of Ivory soap, shampoo and conditioner, a towel, a washcloth, a roll of toilet paper for emergencies, and a week-long supply of an assortment of potted meat and crackers that I would eat for lunch.

It’s probably safe to assume this list doesn’t represent what most of our lists looked like from our most recent shopping trip. Notice there were no CDs, no bottles of expensive wines, no home decorating items, and no expensive toys. Nope, just basic necessities. Shepard was satisfying those needs for shelter, clothing and food first. Later, he would go on to add transportation, a job, and his own place to stay by sticking to his initial plan of only spending money on things that were absolutely necessary to his survival.

Most reading this are probably in much better situations than those described in the book living in the Crisis Ministries shelter in Charleston, SC. However, that doesn’t mean we cannot apply these same lessons. Intellectually, we all know that savings in merely a function of spending less than you earn. But many people are convinced a requirement for building savings is earning a lot of money. Not true.

In fact, I know plenty of examples of people who earn a ton of money and have very little, if any, savings. Conversely, I know people who earn a modest amount of money, but have healthy emergency funds and long-term savings. Scratch Beginnings really drove that point home for me, and from a frugal living perspective was the major take away from following Shepard’s story.

I would be remiss if I didn’t add a disclaimer for those interested in reading Shepard’s book. The language is raw and unedited from conversations he had with those in the shelter and at various jobs. It did not bother me, but it may not be suitable for young readers (pre-teen or younger). In a way I wish some of that had been left out of the book to expand the audience to younger people, but in the end I was glad Shepard left it in because it added to the authenticity of his experience. An experience that I hope more people will read and learn from in their struggle to lift themselves out of a life of poverty.

Miranda writes for Bankling, a new portal for personal finance information, which publishes a weblog, and a resources section that contains tools like the highest bank CD rates , the highest savings account rates, free mortgage rate calculators, and more.

With the recession on, many people are interested in saving money. It is no surprise that frugal is back — and in a big way. Here are 50 blogs (in no particular order) that can help you save money and live a frugal lifestyle.

General Frugal Living

These are general frugal living blogs that often combine frugality tips with personal finance ideas and insights.

1. Frugal Dad provides insight into living frugally by eschewing debt, getting the most for your money, and being happy with what you have.

2. Being Frugal offers a number of helpful articles on frugal living –  including a regular feature called Tightwad Tuesday.

3. Simple Mom is a blog that offers frugal living ideas, as well as personal finance information and life hacks.

4. Festival of Frugality is a rotating blog festival. It features great articles from a number of writers every week. The Festival has its own blog, which shares great information, tips and helps for frugal living.

5. Almost Frugal shares a personal journey on the road to frugality, and provides insights that can help you come along.

6. A Mother in Israel provides frugal insight for living a kosher life.

7. Domestic Sense is about finding ways to improve your quality of life while being frugal.

8. A Frugal Living Blog by a Frugal Guy focuses on making the most out of your life through frugal living.

9. The Frugal Duchess features helpful information on being frugal, while remaining fashionable and fun.

10. Pat Veretto’s Frugal Living Blog gives readers a first hand account of living frugally.

11. Frugal Zeitgeist offers personal finance ideas with a focus on saving money and frugal living.

12. Not Made of Money looks at frugal living from the perspective of a husband and wife team.

13. Fabulously Broke is a blog about saving money while still enjoying a good life.

Frugal Tips, Tricks and Bargain Hunting

Looking for tips and tricks to save a little money? Want bargain hunting advice? These blogs show you how you can save money everyday.

14. $5 Dinners is a great frugality blog that focuses on helping you create delicious dinners for less than $5.

15. Frugal Babe chronicles her quests for great deals. Once you see how she does, you will see how you can do it, too.

16. Money Saving Mom focuses on grocery shopping tips, and providing information on good deals.

17. Ebates Shopping Blog is all about tricks, tips and offers to help you save money on almost anything.

18. It’s Frugal Being Green provides proof tips and tricks for being environmentally friendly while living a frugal lifestyle. It really is possible!

19. Mashup Mom is focused on sharing tips that can help parents live more frugally every day.

20. Make It From Scratch devotes itself to tips and ideas that can help you save money by making a number of things — from food to carpet cleaner — on your own.

21. Home Ec 101 provides helpful ideas on saving money around the house, from food to cleaning to fixing things up.

22. Fabu Daily offers frugal tips, as well as deals and coupons (and how to use them).

23. Frugal Blog on Families.com is chock full of helpful advice and frugal tricks on getting the most out of your money.

24. Mighty Bargain Hunter shares tools and tips to help you get the best deals and live frugally.

25. Savvy Frugality offers a number of tips and tricks to help you remain focused on living within your means.

26. Frugal Sister features helpful information, tools and more — from a pair of sisters helping each other live the frugal life.

Coupon Blogs

Part of frugal living is clipping coupons and finding online specials. These blogs can help you do just that.

27. Coupon Cravings provides regular deals, coupons and specials that can help you save money.

28. Mommy Saves Big printable coupons lets you peruse what’s available, and then print out coupons for your offline shopping needs. Online coupon codes available as well.

29. Coupon Mom Blog offers a number of coupons — by state — and provides information on free samples and offers to boot.

30. Coupon Blog specializes in online coupons, providing daily deals from different retailers.

31. Donna’s Coupons is the About.com site on couponing. A great, daily roundup of online coupons and more.

32. Coupon Mountain has a blog that posts special deals for online and offline merchandise.

33. Coupon Chief offers a number of Internet deals. Others can submit coupons, and there is a trust score so that you know whether coupon contributors can be trusted.

34. Coupon Cactus provides codes, and even has a coupon alert system to let you know when your favorites are available.

35. Live on Coupons is from Idaho Press-Tribune, but there are plenty of coupon deals that are available anywhere.

36. Coupon Shak provides coupons on specific items, as well as rebates and travel coupons.

37. Retail Me Not lists merchants and coupon codes to help you save money when you check out.

38. Find Savings offers all a number new deals available daily.

Frugal Blog Posts

These may not be frugal living blogs per se, but there are often some good frugality posts. Here are some posts on frugal living from some great personal finance blogs.

39. Free From Broke offers 9 ways you can save money when it comes to baby costs.

40. Modern Gal shares specific ways she will save money while going green.

41. Stretchy Dollar has a great post on turning a super spender into a frugal saver.

42. M is for Money features some delicious meals that you can make frugally.

43. Savings Advice provides a handy step-by-step article on getting the most out of your coupons.

44. Christian PF lists 6 things you can buy now that will pay for themselves by this time next year.

45. Five Cent Nickel helps you avoid shopping pitfalls that can cost you more.

46. Moolanomy offers an interesting quiz: Are you frugal, or are you cheap?

47. My Two Dollars knows 25 household items that you can reuse to enhance your frugality.

48. Bible Money Matters looks at way you can eat out for less.

49. Pay Less for Food features a look at why now could be a good time to try store brand products.

50. Christian Money Mountain shares information on saving money on gas.

It’s been said that necessity is the mother of all invention. Then frugality must be like a second mother!  Have you ever noticed how most frugal people are also very creative? It’s no coincidence; I believe there is a strong correlation between frugality and creativity.  There’s plenty of examples out there of frugal people finding creative solutions to life’s problems – sometimes in an effort to save money, and other times simply to extend the useful life of everyday things.

Mowing by flashlight

The idea for this post came to me Saturday night while mowing our lawn late in the evening. As it got dark, I switched on the lawn tractor’s headlight feature without success. In a matter of minutes I would soon be mowing in the dark.  With no time to investigate why the lamp wasn’t working, and little time (and money) to start looking for a replacement, I did what any frugal person would do. I duct taped an old MAGLIGHT flashlight to the hood and finished mowing.

Of course, this probably won’t be a long-term solution, although after looking up the cost of a new headlamp I’m thinking I might just live with it for a while (and start mowing earlier in the day!).

Painting the top of my van with Rustoleum auto paint

A while back I noticed the top of my old van was seriously rusted. I was less concerned with aesthetics and more concerned that it would eventually leak during heavy rains. Recognizing that it is a large vehicle, I figured having a new paint job would be expensive, so I decided to do it myself.

One Saturday morning I hand-sanded the top of the van with sandpaper fine enough for auto surfaces, but coarse enough to remove most of the rust. I then gave the van a good washing to remove any sanding residue and loose paint/rust chips.

The next morning I applied a couple coats of Rustoleum auto spray paint to the roof in an almost matching color.  It’s really more two-toned now, but not many people can see the top of a van, so it certainly doesn’t bother me. With a little elbow grease, and $20 worth of supplies I had solved most of my rust problem. At 19 years old, the chances of me having to repaint the roof during the van’s useful life are slim.

Made a “book” rest

A few weeks ago I was cleaning out my work office when I found some very old programming books.  These thousand-plus page monsters were extremely outdated and were ready to hit the recycle bin long ago. But I had a different idea.

I grabbed two of the books of equal size, and found four door wedges (those triangular things that slide under a door to hold it open), and glued two to each book, about a 1/3 of the way in on both sides.  What I had left was a gently elevated footrest for each foot that I put against the backside of my desk.

No offense to the books’ authors intended of course, but the software the books were written for stop being supported five years ago. At several inches thick they make a perfect way to elevate my feet under my office desk,and saved me from having to buy an expensive footrest. Why not extend their useful life a bit?

Naturally, these homemade solutions are not always better. There are plenty of times where it makes sense to go shopping for a new product or  service that will solve your problem. However, I applaud those who stop to think about finding a frugal, creative solution using the things they already have, rather than rushing out to a store to buy something new–adding to the clutter in their home or office.

My wife and I are still working to become debt free.  In fact, we are now within a month of paying off her car.  It will be the first time in our marriage we will be without a car payment (look for a celebratory post next month)!  While working our way through debt repayment we have found that living frugally has helped by creating more disposable income to use to pay down debt.  Let me use an example from this past weekend.

Can coupons help you get out of debt faster?

We have been members of The Grocery Game for some time now.  It is a service that lines up coupons and store deals to notify you of rock-bottom pricing deals at your favorite store(s). We diligently collect the coupon fliers from each Sunday paper and file them by date in our filing cabinet. When planning a grocery trip, we print out the latest Grocery Game  list and clip the coupons from the weekly flier.  If you sign up for The Grocery Game, I would appreciate it if you would plug my email address jason[at]frugaldad.com in the referral box – I think I’ll earn a couple free weeks if a number of you do it).

Last Friday my wife headed off to take the kids to school and planned to do a little grocery shopping on the way home.  Then she realized she forgot coupons.  Dilemma.  Return all the way home to pick up coupons, or just go on to the store since she was sitting in the parking lot when the missing coupon realization came over her.  She decided to go shopping, sans coupons.

Despite her best efforts to find store deals and generic brands, she still spent a considerably more without our coupons. Normally, this wouldn’t be that big a deal – we would simply adjust the budget a bit and write it off as a lesson learned (we should really keep our coupons in an accordion file in the car for this very reason).  However, since we are so close to paying off our car early, and set a goal to do it by June, every bit we can save goes directly towards that car loan balance.

A penny saved is a penny earned, or one you can use to pay off debt

Of course, this is just a recent illustration of something we’ve known all along. For every penny we spend it is one less penny that can be used to repay debt, or build wealth. This is easy to see when setting up a budget – an increase in one category means a decrease in the other. However, it is harder to recognize during the day-to-day grind.

We also recognize that living ultra frugal while in debt is extremely difficult, because your family is already making supreme sacrifices to get out of debt. Now you are asking them to not eat out, stay out of the movie theater, and skip the annual vacation.  Don’t be surprised if you meet resistance.

If you can manage to live a frugal lifestyle while in debt, the payoff will come when you pay off those debts.  We’ve already experienced this feeling with a couple credit card balances, and now it’s time to knock out this car loan.  Who would have thought clipping all those coupons would help us pay off our car.

What a difference a few decades makes!  In the 1980’s capitalism was on the march as many technological advances were made.  An entrepreneurial spirit spread across the country.  That carried over into the 1990’s, and went into overdrive in the mid-to-late 90’s, where there were plenty of examples of on-paper employee millionaires thanks to hot IPOs, and “irrational exuberance” in the technology sector, particularly biotech companies.

Throughout this period the idea of frugal living was but an after thought, and those who practiced it were made fun of mercilessly.  We were labeled tightwads, cheapskates, and other not-so-polite terms of fiscal endearment.  After all, people were too busy comparing their net worth to try to save a buck.

Enter the recession of 2008.  Suddenly, frugal living made a comeback.  It seemed the cover story of every major media publication featured some variation of “ways to save money” or “ways to survive the recession,” or proclaimed the reemergence of frugality.  Now (some of) those same people scrambling for bigger houses, fancier cars and higher capital gains are trying to out-do one another again by scrimping, sacrificing, and poking fun at people’s purchases.  Nothing is ever frugal enough.

Sometimes the act of scaling back is traumatic enough to a family’s finances–cutting things altogether would send them over the edge.  Take my family for instance.  Last year we decided to go one year without expanded cable television service.  I wanted to cancel completely.  My wife and kids pointed out the number of educational shows we could watch on PBS, and the poor signal reception we would get from an antennae.  We compromised, and decided to drop back to basic cable, reducing our cable bill from $46 a month to $12 a month.  We made similar compromises in other areas of our budget.  At the end of the year, we decided to resume expanded cable and cut other subscriptions and forms of entertainment.

Here lately, I’ve noticed a shift in public sentiment towards frugality, and I suspect it may be a form of frugal burnout.  When people get burned out with a trend in their own lives, they tend to resent others who they perceive to be sacrificing less than them.  Many people are made to feel guilty if they are not practicing a frugal lifestyle.  Others are so condemned for spending money that they are literally ashamed to be seen with bags from high-end stores.  Give me a break.  Have we really come to that?

First of all, frugality is not a competition.  People have different levels of tolerance for all things frugal.  Some people like air conditioning, others enjoy working on classic cars.  They choose to spend their money on things that others perceive to be frivolous.  But that is simply a personal opinion, and how you choose to spend your money says more about your personal values than your level of commitment to the frugal living movement.

Of course, many of us practice frugality for reasons besides monetary gain.  We enjoy simple living, and believe in being wise stewards of resources (natural, economic, etc.).  But what you choose to do with your money is up to you.  Bottom line:  Please don’t become a self-righteous frugalist!

Caught a post recently about “off the grid” living over at Five Cent Nickel, and the author had an interesting idea I’d like our family to adopt.  His arrangements sound a lot like ours.  Like us, he found it nearly impossible to live off the grid 100% of the time when you are living in the middle of a neighborhood.  If we were out in the country it might be just as much of a challenge, but at least there we would have more room, and more freedoms to try to pull it off.

Photo courtesy of Southern Foodways Alliance

Still, suburban living is no excuse for not finding creative ways to become a little more self-reliant.  So beginning tomorrow, each Saturday morning we’ll throw the breakers to the “Off” position (all but the circuit controlling the refrigerator and freezer) and go 24 hours without power, intentionally.  Obviously, we don’t want our food to spoil as that would not be very frugal.

To prepare for such an experiment, I’ve been trying to brainstorm the pros and cons of going off the grid once a week.  Here are a few of the obvious ones, and a couple that seem like minor annoyances we can work around.

Pros of an Off the Grid Saturday

Lower utility bill. Not sure how much lower the utility bill will be, but I’d like to think not running the air conditioner, computers, lights, televisions, etc. 14% of each week would have some positive effect.  Because laundry will still need cleaning we’ll probably use the washing machine, but not the dryer, opting instead to line dry clothes, or use a drying rack.

More family time.  I imagine without me being huddled around a computer, and the kids parked in front the Wii, we’ll find more family time to spend together.

More outside time.  As a family, we’ll probably look for ways to escape our dark house and get outside for some fresh air.  It would do us all to get outside more, particularly on the weekends when we aren’t cooped up in school or the office.  We can spend the afternoon gardening, playing basketball, and take a leisurely stroll or bike ride through the neighborhood.

Cons of an Off the Grid Saturday

Resetting clocks on oven, microwave, radios, etc. This may seem like a minor thing, but resetting the time drives me nuts!

The heat. I’m jealous of those that live places where they don’t need air conditioning.  I live in the south, and here air conditioning is a must. Not only do the temperatures climb near the triple in the summer, but the humidity is unbearable. 90 degrees here is sweltering compared to 90 degrees in drier climates.  For this reason, it might be tough to go without AC (and ceiling fans) during the hottest months.

After giving it some thought, we could probably leave the electrical panel alone and simulate not having power by turning off the air conditioner at the thermostat, keeping all electronic devices off for the day, and not using lights. That way we can still make use of ceiling fans, not worry about killing power to refrigeration devices, etc.  Now I just have to sell this idea of living off the grid once a week to my wife and kids.  And that could prove to be the toughest part of the entire experiment!  I’ll follow up next weekend to let you know how it goes.